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H.  P.  HALL'S 


OBSERVATIONS 


BEING  MORE  OR  LESS 
A  HISTORY  OF  POLIT- 
ICAL CONTESTS  IN 
MINNESOTA  : 


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•  ••••         ••  •'• 


FROM    I849JTO    i9o4, 


AUTOGRAPH   EDITION. 


ST.  PAUL,  MINN. 
1904. 


'   '♦'   BV  H.  P.  HALL.' 


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DEDICATION 


To  the  young  men  who  may  at  some  period  in  their  lives 
feel  inclined  to  abandon  regular  and  legitimate  business  for 
the  purpose  of  securing. a  foothold  in  political  life,  and  inci- 
dentally some  office,  these  pages  are  warningly  inscribed, 
with  the  simple  suggestion 

DONT. 


M83706 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Territorial  Governors — Ramsey,  Gorman,  Medary 7 

The  Dual  Constitutional  Convention 14 

Final  Admission — Three  Governors  at  One  Time 24 

The  Trick  Which  Saved  the  Capital  for  St.  Paul 26 

How  Minneapolis  Might  Have  Had  the  Capital ■. 38 

Peculiarities  of  Early  Legislation 45 

Election  of  the  First  State  Governor 48 

First  Congressional  Delegate  from  Minnesota  was  from  Wisconsin  53 

Ramsey's  First  Election  to  the  Senate 56 

Wilkinson's  Defeat  for  Re-election  to  the  Senate 61 

Marshall's  First  Nomination  for  Governor 69 

Windom's  First  Election  to  the  Senate 72 

Donnelly's  Defeat  in  the  Great  Campaign  of  1868 76 

William  Windom's  Start  in  Political  Life 91 

Donnelly's  Resurrection  as  a  Republican 93 

Ramsey's  Second  Election  to  the  Senate loi 

The  Liberal  Republicans  of  1872 108 

How  I  Was  Appointed  Pension  Agent  but  Slipped  a  Cog 113 

How  I  Discovered  C.  K.  Davis 121 

Senator  Ramsey  Defeated  for  the  Third  Term 135 

A.  E.  Rice's  Bad  Mistake i55 

Pillsbury's  First  Election  as  Governor 158 

Donnelly's  Campaign  for  Congress  as  a  Democrat 160 

Putting  on  the  Garb  of  Statehood 164 

First  Republican  Senator — M.  S.  Wilkinson 168 

King's  Election  to  Congress  and  Pacific  Mail  Scandal 172 

Davis'  Second  Election  to  the  Senate  by  a  Scratch 185 

McGill's   Nomination   for   Governor 190 

Merriam's  Election  as  Governor 196 

C.  K.  Davis'  First  Election  to  the  Senate.- 202 

Windom's   Defeat  by   Sabin 206 

Donnelly's  Contest  for  Washburn's  Seat  in  Congress 215 

Merriam's  Election  as   Speaker ^ 221 

Brass   Kettle  Campaign 225 

Pillsbury's  Defeat  for  the  Fourth  Term  by  Hubbard 231 

Washburn's  Defeat  for  Senate  by  Nelson 242 


Page. 

The  Five  Million  Railroad  Bonds 246 

The  Great  State  Treasury  Defalcation 252 

McMillan's  Re-election  in  1881 258 

J.  B.  Gilfillan's  Election  to  Congress 263 

Washburn's  Defeat  of  Sabin 279 

Knute  Nelson's  Contest  for  Congress  with  Kindred 285 

The  Dunnell-Ward  Fight  in  1880 296 

Series  of  Gubernatorial  Campaigns 302 

Moses  E.  Clapp's  Election  to  the  Senate 308 

The  Dunn-Collins  Contest  for  Governor  in  1904 317 

Resume  of  State  Elections  for  Fifty  Years 345 

Windom's  Candidacy  for  President 352 

General  Reflections  and  Nuggets  of  Wisdom 359 

Our  Trans-continental  Railroads 364 

Two  Men  Elected  President  Who  Never  Served 374 

The  Grant-Conkling-Garfield  National  Convention  of  1880 378 


HOW  IT  HAPPENED. 

While,  as  far  as  they  go,  my  observations  are  designed  to 
make,  when  united,  a  poUtical  history,  I  do  not  assume  to  write 
what  might  be  termed  a  complete  resume  of  the  political  events 
which  have  transpired  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  That  would 
involve  the  pubHcation  of  a  semi-poHtical  almanac,  which  is  the 
farthest  from  my  intention.  It  has  been  my  aim  to  confine 
myself  to  political  contests ;  not  so  much  between  political  par- 
ties, but  rather  internecine  struggles  within  the  ranks  of  the 
party  which  has  been  dominant  most  of  the  time  since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  territory  of  the  State  of  Minnesota.  If  the  Democrats 
do  not  appear  as  frequently  as  the  Republicans  it  is  because  the 
Republicans  have  been  so  much  more  numerous  that  they  (the 
Democrats)  did  not  have  as  much  to  fight  about. 

As  the  work  has  progressed,  my  greatest  dilemma  has  been 
to  determine  what  to  omit  rather  than  what  to  tell.  I  have 
sought  not  to  invade  the  grave  or  unduly  disturb  the  living,  and 
so  far  as  the  dead  are  concerned  have  largely  confined  myself  to 
matters  made  public  while  they  were  still  alive,  as  well  as  quot- 
ing from  public  (though  forgotten)  records  which  live  forever. 

I  make  no  apology  for  the  use  of  the  personal  pronoun.  It 
probably  appears  more  frequently  than  any  other  word  in  this 
book.  For  the  most  part  I  can  say  of  what  I  have  written,  "all 
of  which  I  saw  and  part  of  which  I  was,"  and  I  accordingly  write 
of  things  as  I  saw  and  understood  them  at  the  time  of  their  occur- 
rence. I  have  aimed  to  refresh  my  memory,  which  is  still  fairly 
good  and  vivid,  by  reference  to  newspaper  files,  largely  newspa- 
pers of  my  own,  when  I  recorded  events  at  the  time  they  were 
current  and  fresh.  Errors  have  doubtless  crept  in,  but  the  truth 
has  been  stated  as  carefully  as  possible,  fairly  and  honestly,  with- 
out a  single  intention  of  misrepresentation.  In  writing  my  book 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  indulge  in  stilted  rhetoric — just 
plain  newspaper  vernacular. 

I  frankly  state  that  all  the  truth  has  not  been  told,  and  it  is 
better  for  history,  for  the  living  and  the  memory  of  the  respected 

(5) 


r>  :  H;  P.:HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

;d^ad,/that  there  ahjpwld  be  some  omissions.  I  have  no  grudges 
'to  even  up.  Life  is  too  short,  and,  with  me,  too  near  its  con- 
clusion, to  set  down  aught  in  malice.  And  so,  without  apology, 
or  further  explanation,  I  submit  my  observations  for  approval 
or  disapproval,  as  the  reader  may  prefer. 

I  think  I  can  claim  without  undue  vanity  that  not  many  now 
live  who  possess  as  much  personal  knowledge  of  the  matters 
referred  to  as  I  do,  and  I  concluded  it  would  be  unjust  to  those 
who  are  so  unwise  as  to  wreck  their  lives  in  the  maelstrom  of 
politics  to  permit  this  information  to  perish  with  me.  I  accord- 
ingly launch  my  observations  as  my  contribution  to  current  his- 
tory and  my  personal  monument. 


).l^Ha^ 


C^^^^oyy^J^^ 


OBSERVATION  ONE. 


The  Territorial  Governors — Ramsey,  Gorman  and  Medary. 


The  Territory  of  Minnesota  was  brought  into  being  on 
March  3,  1849,  the  passage  of  an  act  in  Congress  organizing 
the  territory.  The  boundaries  were  thus  described  in  the  organic 
act: 

All  that  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  which  lies  within 
the  following  limits,  to  wit:  Beginning  in  the  Mississippi  river,  at  the 
point  where  the  line  of  forty-three  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  of  north 
latitude  crosses  the  same;  thence  running  due  west  on  said  line,  which  is 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  State  of  Iowa,  to  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  said  State  of  Iowa;  thence  southerly  along  the  western  boundary 
of  said  state  to  the  point  where  said  boundary  strikes  the  Missouri  river; 
thence  up  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
mouth  of  White  Earth  river;  thence  up  the  middle  of  the  main  channel 
of  the  White  Earth  river  to  the  boundary  line  between  the  possessions 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain;  thence  east  and  south  of  east 
along  the  boundary  line  between  the  possessions  of  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  to  Lake  Superior;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the 
northernmost  point  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  in  Lake  Superior;  thence 
along  the  western  boundary  line  of  said  State  of  Wisconsin  to  the 
Mississippi  river;  thence  down  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the 
place  of  beginning,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby,  erected  into  a  temporary 
government  by  the  name  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota. 

There  had  been  a  controversy  between  the  Senate  and  the 
House,  the  Senate  being  Whig  and  the  House  Democratic,  as 
to  organizing  any  new  territories.  The  slavery  question  was 
then  dominant,  and  the  Southern  Whigs  and  Democrats,  as 
well,  were  opposed  to  admitting  any  more  free  territory.  The 
Northern  Whigs  were  divided.  The  result  was  that  all  through 
that  session  of  Congress  the  question  was  of  organizing  the  ter- 
ritory or  not.  The  Senate  passed  the  bill  early,  but  the  House, 
in  the  controversy  between  the  Democrats  and  the  Whigs,  held 

(7) 


8  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

it  up;  so  that  it  was  not  until  the  last  day  of  the  session,  and 
practically  the  last  day  of  President  Polk's  administration,  that 
the  bill  was  finally  passed. 

President  Polk  was  a  Democrat,  and  his  successor-to-be. 
General  Taylor,  was  a  Whig.  Polk  was  strongly  urged  to 
organize  the  territory  by  appointing  the  new  governor,  but, 
with  a  fairness  which  almost  seems  abnormal  in  the  present 
state  of  politics,  he  declined  to  take  advantage  of  the  last  day 
of  his  administration  to  put  a  Democrat  in  office.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  imagine  a  president  of  the  present  day  declining 
to  secure  a  political  advantage  as  a  matter  of  sentiment.  But 
the  country  had  evidently  not  reached  the  stage  of  political 
"civilization"  which  exists  to-day.  The  consequence  was 
that  it  fell  to  General  Taylor,  the  Whig  president,  to  organize 
the  territory  of  Minnesota;  and  in  doing  that  he  selected 
Alexander  Ramsey  of  Pennsylvania  as  the  first  governor.  His 
commission  bore  date  April  2,  1849,  though  his  term  of  office 
in  Minnesota  did  not  actually  begin  until  June  i,  1849,  ^^^ 
continued  to  May  15,  1853. 

It  was  early  on  the  morning  of  May  2y,  1849,  that  the 
steamer  "Dr.  Franklin"  stuck  her  nose  into  the  bank  of  the 
river  about  where  the  foot  of  Jackson  street  in  St.  Paul  is  now 
located.  This  steamer  carried  Alexander  Ramsey  and  his 
family.  His  family  then  consisted  of  his  wife,  a  son  of  three 
years,  and  a  nurse.  The  governor  was  an  early  riser.  Leav- 
ing his  family  sleeping  on  the  boat,  he  concluded  to  recon- 
noiter  the  town.  Leaving  the  boat  and  clambering  up  the 
steep  hill,  the  first  building  he  encountered  was  the  Mer- 
chants Hotel,  located  where  it  still  stands  at  the  corner  of  Third 
and  Jackson  streets,  and  then  kept  by  the  late  J.  W.  Bass.  It 
was  a  combination  of  log  and  frame  structure,  and,  while  the  hour 
was  early,  Mr.  Bass  was  on  hand,  all  attention  to  his  visitor, 
though  unaware  of  his  identity.  He  explained  to  the  visitor  that 
the  governor  had  just  been  appointed,  and  he  expected  the  hotel 
business  would  soon  be  booming,  as  people  would  be  coming  to 
the  capital,  and  he  was  accordingly  making  improvements,  which 
he  insisted  on  showing.  Governor  Ramsey  says  he  found  the 
improvements  to  consist  of  cutting  up  the  rooms,  already  small. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  9 

into  still  smaller  ones,  evidently  with  the  view  of  furnishing  ac- 
commodations for  a  larger  number  of  guests  by  reducing  the 
space  each  one  would  occupy.  Concluding  that  the  accommoda- 
tions would  not  be  satisfactory  to  himself  and  family,  Governor 
Ramsey  strolled  up  Third  street,  and  before  he  had  gone  half  a 
block  saw  a  building  which  bore  evidence  of  reconstruction ;  and 
asking  a  boy,  who  chanced  to  come  along,  what  that  building 
was,  the  boy  replied,  "The  governor's  residence.''  He  returned 
to  the  boat  with  rather  an  unfavorable  impression  of  the  situa- 
tion. The  governor  consulted  with  the  clerk,  who  advised  him 
to  remain  on  the  boat  and  take  his  breakfast  and  go  up  to  Men- 
dota,  where  they  had  to  deliver  a  cargo  of  Indian  supplies. 

Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley,  then  the  delegate  to  Congress  from  Min- 
nesota, resided  at  Mendota ;  and  while  the  governor  had  no  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  him,  he  concluded  to  accept  his  advice 
and  return  to  St.  Paul  later  in  the  day  to  locate.  Arriving  at 
Mendota,  General  Sibley  came  on  board  without  knowing  the 
governor  was  there,  but  upon  meeting  the  new  official  greeted 
him  with  his  characteristic  hospitality  and  insisted  on  the  whole 
family  coming  to  his  residence  until  accommodations  could  be 
secured  in  St.  Paul.  With  some  demurrer  on  the  part  of  Mrs. 
Ramsey,  who  thought  it  would  be  trespassing  on  hospitality, 
the  invitation  was  accepted,  the  governor  assuring  her  that  there 
was  nothing  else  to  be  done,  as  he  had  unsuccessfully  explored 
the  capital  earlier  in  the  day. 

Later  in  the  day  Ramsey  and  Sibley  started  on  horseback 
for  St.  Paul,  Sibley  suggesting  a  call  on  the  commandant  of  Fort 
Snelling  en  route.  When  the  commandant  was  introduced  and 
found  he  had  a  real,  live  governor  on  his  hands,  he  told  Governor 
Ramsey  that,  under  the  regulations  of  the  War  Department,  when 
a  governor  visited  a  military  post,  he  was  entitled  to  a  salute  of 
seventeen  guns,  and  proceeded  to  give  orders  for  their  firing. 
Governor  Ramsey  told  the  commandant  that  he  was  not  very 
familiar  with  military  customs,  but  if  he  would  supply  him  with 
a  glass  of  good  whiskey  he  would  waive  the  guns. 

When  Ramsey  told  me  this  story  he  said,  with  a  twinkle  of 
his  eye, 

I  think  that  must  have  been  pretty  good  whiskey,  for  we  went  down 
to  St.  Paul  that  day  and  laid  the  foundations  for  a  good  state. 


10  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Crossing  the  Mississippi  on  a  wheezy  and  primitive  rope 
ferry,  the  shore  opposite  Fort  SnelHng  was  reached,  where  a  hill 
almost  as  precipitous  as  the  side  of  a  house  was  encountered. 
The  ride  to  St.  Paul  was  not  cheerful,  there  being  no  road  and 
scarcely  a  trail.  They  encountered  withal  sloughs  where  their 
horses  floundered  up  to  their  saddle-girths  in  mud  and  water; 
but  the  journey  was  finally  made,  and  the  small  house,  formerly 
a  saloon,  which  the  little  boy  had  styled  "the  governor's  resi- 
dence," was  actually  selected  as  such  as  a  dernier  resort,  there 
being  nothing  else  vacant  in  the  town. 

It  was  three  or  four  weeks  before  the  "executive  mansion" 
was  sufficiently  transformed  for  occupancy,  and  during  that 
time  the  governor  and  his  family  remained  at  General  Sibley's. 
The  governor  had  in  the  meantime  sent  orders  by  the  boats  to 
St.  Louis  for  furniture,  and  when  he  brought  his  family  down 
they  came  in  dug-out  canoes,  one  canoe  containing  the  family 
and  another  their  trunks.  This  was  the  customary  way  of  com- 
ing from  Mendota  to  St.  Paul  in  those  days  (there  being  no  trav- 
eled road),  except  when  the  large  boats  chanced  to  be  making 
a  trip,  though  it  was  not  a  very  safe  method  for  inexperienced 
people. 

The  governor  and  his  family  landed  at  what  was  known  in 
St.  Paul  as  the  Upper  Levee  at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  street.  The 
next  serious  trouble  was  the  transportation  of  their  effects  from 
the  landing  to  the  "executive  mansion ;"  such  a  thing  as  a  truck 
or  an  express  wagon  was  unknown,  but  at  last  a  Frenchman  with 
an  ox  cart  was  discovered.  The  trunks  were  loaded  thereon, 
and  with  Mrs.  Ramsey  sitting  upon  one  of  the  trunks,  while  the 
governor  walked,  the  cavalcade  proceeded  up  Eagle  street  and 
down  Third  street,  from  what  is  now  the  Seven  Corners.  The 
whole  town  turned  out  to  witness  the  official  arrival;  and  it  is 
within  bounds  to  state  that  the  governor  of  Minnesota,  traveling 
on  foot,  with  his  family  seated  on  trunks  in  an  ox  cart,  landing 
at  their  "official  residence"  on  Third  street,  between  Robert  and 
Jackson,  is  an  instance  of  democratic  simplicity  which  eclipses 
Jefferson's  inauguration  ride. 

This  was  not  a  very  encouraging  advent  for  the  new  gov- 
ernor, but  Ramsey  was  young  and  plucky  in  those  days,  and  had 
undertaken  the  task  of  making  a  state  even  greater  than  he  then 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  11 

dreamed  of,  and  he  had  not  put  his  hand  to  the  plow  to  look 
backward.  What  he  accomplished  during  his  Hfetime,  and  the 
development  which  he  saw,  was  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
early  period  of  his  arrival,  and  was  most  exceedingly  gratifying 
to  him,  as  he  frequently  recounted  to  his  old  friends  his  begin- 
ning in  Minnesota. 

At  that  time  the  governor  was  ex-oflBcio  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Afifairs ;  and  as  there  were  more  Indians  in  the  territory 
than  white  people,  a  large  portion  of  his  official  duties  related 
to  regulating  the  Indians ;  and  in  ^'regulating  the  Indians"  I 
should  explain  that  the  term  means  crowding  them  off  the  earth 
so  that  the  aggressive  white  man  can  take  his  place.  Of  course, 
Governor  Ramsey  was  only  conforming  to  the  customs  of  the 
country  and  discharging  his  plain  duty.  But  he  proved  a  great 
success,  and  was  soon  a  great  chieftain  in  the  minds  of  the 
Indians.  The  most  important  treaties  with  the  Indians,  whereby 
they  ceded  their  reservations  and  moved  farther  west,  were  made 
during  Governor  Ramsey's  administration. 

During  his  six  years'  term  as  territorial  governor  there  was 
nothing  of  greater  importance  than  these  Indian  treaties. 

While  President  Polk  had  been  very  punctilious  about  seizing 
the  control  of  Minnesota  for  his  party,  when  President  Pierce  was 
elected  by  the  Democrats,  in  1852,  he  had  no  compunctions 
whatever  in  selecting  a  Democrat  to  succeed  the  Whig  governor 
of  Minnesota.  General  Willis  A.  Gorman,  of  Indiana,  who  had 
distinguished  himself  in  the  Mexican  war,  as  well  as  served  a 
term  in  Congress^  was  promptly  appointed  governor  of  Minne- 
sota by  President  Pierce,  in  1853,  and  Governor  Ramsey  was  for 
the  time  relegated  to  private  life;  though  he  had  made  such  a 
marked  and  so  successful  an  administration  in  the  new  territory 
that  he  was  later  called  to  the  governorship  and  other  high  posi- 
tions, and  was  perhaps  more  potential  than  any  one  man  who 
ever  lived  in  laying  the  foundation  for  what  is  now  the  greatest 
state  in  the  Union. 

GOVERNOR  GORMAN. 

It  was  in  May,  1853,  that  Governor  Gorman  took  charge  of 
affairs  in  Minnesota.  The  territory  was  then  crystallizing  into 
formal  shape  preparatory  to  statehood  and  questions  were  arising 


12  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

which  had  not  come  up  under  Governor  Ramsey's  administra- 
tion. 

The  germ  of  our  railroad  system  was  really  laid  during  Gov- 
ernor Gorman's  administration,  though  the  system  has  since 
developed  to  such  an  extent  that  the  plans  of  the  early  settlers 
would  hardly  be  recognized,  even  as  a  rough  survey  of  what  is 
now  in  existence.  Still  the  territorial  legislature  was  passing 
land  grants,  and  Governor  Gorman  was  especially  insistent  on 
inserting  the  clause  imposing  a  three  per  cent  gross  earnings  tax 
in  lieu  of  all  other  taxation  upon  the  railroads  then  in  embryo ; 
it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  he  or  anyone  else  then  living  in  their 
wildest  imagination  dreamed  of  the  vast  sums  which  would 
accrue  from  this  form  of  taxation. 

Governor  Gorman  had  an  especially  stormy  time  during  his 
career  with  the  Indian  traders.  He,  too,  was  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs,  and  the  territory  had  become  the  mecca  for  Indian 
traders ;  in  fact,  in  the  sparsely  settled  condition  of  the  ter- 
ritory Indian  trade  was  the  vital  and  essential  business.  On 
general  principles  it  is  probably  fair  to  assume  that  Governor 
Gorman  was  justified  in  antagonizing  the  Indian  traders,  at  all 
events  he  did  so  very  vigorously ;  with  the  result  that  he  retired 
from  office  in  1857,  and  President  Buchanan  (also  a  Democrat) 
appointed  Samuel  Medary,  an  editor  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  his  suc- 
cessor. 

GOVERNOR    MEDARY. 

Medary  had  been,  like  nearly  everyone  else  in  Ohio,  an 
active  politician;  had  presided  at  the  convention  which  nomi- 
nated Buchanan  in  Cincinnati  in  1856,  and  was  credited  with 
being  the  author  of  the  political  shibboleth  "Fifty-four  forty  or 
fight,"  which  rang  through  the  country  during  the  period  when 
the  Oregon  boundary  was  in  dispute  with  England. 

The  territory  was  then  approaching  statehood.  Governor 
Gorman's  last  message  to  the  territorial  legislature  was  largely 
devoted  to  showing  that  the  territory  had  reached  proportions 
in  population,  business,  and  in  every  other  respect  which  would 
entitle  it  to  admission  as  a  state. 

Medary's  term  of  office  was,  accordingly,  quite  brief;  for  in 
less  than  a  year  after  he  came  to  Minnesota  the  territory  was 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  13 

admitted  as  a  state,  and  the  reign  of  the  territorial  governors 
ceased.  They  had  left  their  impress,  however,  especially  the 
work  of  Ramsey  and  Gorman — an  impress  which  was  lasting 
and  will  undoubtedly  remain  as  long  as  Minnesota  exists. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Congress  had  passed  an  act,  on  Feb.  26, 
1857,  authorizing  a  state  government  for  Minnesota.  This  was 
prior  to  Medary's  coming  to  the  territory  as  governor.  It  author- 
ized an  election  in  June,  1857,  to  select  delegates  to  meet 
and  form  a  state  constitution,  which  was  to  be  in  conformity  to 
the  federal  constitution  and  to  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the 
territory.  Governor  Gorman  had  already  issued  the  official  call 
for  the  election  when  Governor  Medary  arrived,  and  the  anomaly 
was  presented  of  one  governor  calling  an  election  and  another 
one  seeing  that  the  duties  thus  indicated  were  properly  dis- 
charged. 


OBSERVATION  TWO. 


The   Dual   Convention  Which   Framed  the   Constitution  of 
Minnesota — A  Violent  Political  Contest. 


Governor  Medary  reached  St.  Paul  April  22,  1857.  A 
special  session  of  the  legislature  had  been  called  by  Governor 
Gorman  to  arrange  for  a  constitutional  convention,  and  on  April 
29th  Governor  Medary  sent  his  first  message  to  the  legislature. 
The  two  important  items  to  which  it  referred  were  the  constitu- 
tional convention  and  the  railroad  land  grant  which  had  just 
been  passed  for  the  benefit  of  the  territory  and  state  by  Congress. 
The  session  was  a  brief  one,  adjourning  on  May  25th,  but  it 
arranged  the  machinery  for  the  constitutional  convention  and 
appropriated  $30,000  for  its  expenses. 

An  active  political  campaign  was  already  in  progress  for  the 
election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  on  June 
1st.  The  Republicans  were  especially  active,  importing  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  speakers. 

No  sooner  was  the  election  over  than  both  sides  began  claim- 
ing to  have  a  majority.  The  convention  was  due  to  consist  of 
102  members,  and  the  RepubHcan  newspapers  claimed  59  Re- 
publican to  43  Democratic  delegates.  The  Democrats  were  less 
specific  and  vociferous  in  their  claims,  and  practically  conceded 
that  they  were  in  a  minority  without  openly  confessing  the  fact. 
The  Republicans  were  exceedingly  suspicious  that  they  would 
be  tricked  out  of  their  majority,  as  there  were  several  contests, 
notably  the  election  of  four  delegates  from  St.  Anthony  in  Hen- 
nepin county — now  Minneapolis  East.  The  Democratic  claim 
was  that  B.  B.  Meeker  was  chosen  by  524  votes,  C.  L.  Chase  by 
521,  C.  A.  Tuttle  by  509,  and  William  M.  Laschalles  by  497. 
The  Republican  contestants  were  J.  H.  Murphy,  whom  the 
Democrats  claimed  received  but  496  votes,  I.  W.  Putnam  491,  D. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  15 

M.  Hale  495,  D.  A.  Secombe  472.  Presumably,  on  the  ground 
of  alleged  fraudulent  voting,  C.  G.  Ames,  register  of  deeds  in 
Hennepin  county,  refused  to  issue  certificates  to  the  four  Demo- 
crats, and  Governor  Medary,  with  due  political  strenuotisness, 
promptly  removed  him  from  office.  The  county  commissioners, 
not  to  be  outdone  in  politeness,  as  promptly  re-elected  him,  and 
he  then  gave  the  certificates  to  the  Republicans. 

There  was  also  a  contest  in  Houston  county  and  some  others, 
which  made  it  doubtful  which  party  would  have  the  supremacy 
if  there  was  a  fair  fight.  But  such  a  thing  as  a  fair  fight  was  not 
imaginable  in  those  days;  possibly  I  might  say  the  situa- 
tion has  not  much  improved  in  politics  in  this  respect  since  that 
early  period.  It  was  therefore  a  question  of  the  sharpest  fac- 
tion, instead  of  the  rightful  faction,  which  was  due  to  win. 

The  convention  was  due  to  be  called  to  order  at  12  o'clock 
noon,  Monday,  July  13,  1857.  The  Republican  party  was  only 
a  year  or  two  old,  and  its  members  evidently  believed  in  being 
very  prompt  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  capturing  of  a  state. 
They  accordingly  went  to  the  capitol  on  Sunday  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  house  of  representatives  and  remained  there  all 
night  in  order  to  make  sure  that  they  were  present  on  time,  Mon- 
day noon.  At  15  minutes  before  12  o'clock  on  Monday,  accord- 
ing to  the  official  Republican  record,  J.  W.  North  called  the  con- 
vention to  order  and  nominated  Thomas  J.  Galbraith  as  president 
pro  tem.  Mr.  North  also  put  the  question  and  declared  it  car- 
ried. The  Democrats,  not  to  be  outdone  in  enterprise,  appeared 
in  the  hall  just  as  these  proceedings  began,  headed  by  C.  J. 
Chase,  the  secretary  of  the  territory,  who  called  the  convention 
to  order.  As  soon  as  he  did  so,  ex-Gov.  Willis  A.  Gorman 
moved  that  the  convention  adjourn,  and  all  the  Democrats  filed 
out,  leaving  the  Republicans  in  peaceful  possession  of  the  hall. 

The  official  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Republican  con- 
vention states  that  after  Mr.  North  put  the  question  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  temporary  chairman,  "Mr.  Galbraith  thereupon  took  the 
chair,"  and  then,  in  brackets,  this  is  added :  "At  this  stage  of 
the  proceedings  a  portion  of  the  delegates  left  the  convention." 
That  is  the  only  allusion  the  Republican  record  makes  to  Gov- 
ernor Gorman's  motion  to  adjourn. 


16  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Both  sides  caucused  during  the  evening  to  devise  plans  each 
for  getting  the  better  of  the  other;  but  the  caucuses  bore  no 
fruit.  The  next  day  the  RepubHcans  again  took  early  possession 
of  the  hall.  The  Democrats  formed  in  a  body,  with  Secretary 
Chase  at  their  head,  and  marched  to  the  door  of  the  hall  v^here 
the  Republicans  were  in  session,  but  did  not  enter.  Secretary 
Chase  said  to  his  Democratic  brethren  in  explanation : 

The  hall  to  which  the  delegates  adjourned  yesterday  is  now  occu- 
pied by  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  territory,  who  refuse  to  give 
possession  to  the  constitutional  convention. 

In  emulation  of  the  King  of  France  who  marched  up  the  hill 
and  then  marched  down  again,  the  Democrats  turned  and  sought 
the  council  chamber,  which  is  now  called  the  senate.  The  build- 
ing was  incomplete,  and  the  council  chamber  was  not  sufficiently 
finished  for  occupancy.  Secretary  Chase,  however,  called  them 
to  order,  and  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  was  chosen  president  of  the 
Democratic  constitutional  convention.  The  convention  then 
adjourned,  and  though  they  met  briefly  every  day,  it  was  not 
until  June  22d  that  the  room  was  sufficiently  completed  for  regu- 
lar sessions. 

Meantime  the  Republicans,  claiming  to  be  the  only  legitimate 
constitutional  convention,  proceeded  to  business  in  the  house 
of  representatives.  They  reported  56  present,  which  was  a  major- 
ity of  the  102,  the  number  of  the  entire  body. 

The  Republicans  organized  by  electing  St.  A.  D.  Balcombe 
of  Winona  permanent  president,  and  L.  A.  Babcock  secretary. 
Though  it  was  summer  time  and  no  fire  was  necessary,  it  was 
important  to  recognize  the  German  element  of  the  party,  and 
Gustave  Leue  was  accordingly  elected  fireman.  Perhaps  it  was 
due  to  this  early  recognition  of  the  Germans  which  led  Mr.  Leue 
to  become  a  Democrat  later  in  life  and  start  the  first  German 
paper  ever  issued  in  Minnesota. 

The  early  proceedings  of  both  constitutional  conventions 
were  chiefly  devoted  to  determining  which  one  was  the  regular, 
"blown-in-the-bottle"  affair.  The  claim  of  the  Republicans  was 
that  56  delegates  had  signed  a  paper  requesting  Mr.  North 
to  call  the  convention  to  order,  and  that,  as  the  convention  must 
itself  originate  its  organization,  the  majority  had  a  right  to  devise 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  17 

the  plan.  They  of  course  ignored  the  question  of  the  contest- 
ants already  mentioned,  and  the  four  delegates  from  St.  Anthony 
were  among  the  56  signing  the  call.  To  have  admitted  any 
question  about  the  legitimacy  of  the  election  of  any  of  the  56 
members  would  have  ruined  their  claim,  and  consequently  the 
contests  were  deliberately  ignored.  There  have  been  hosts  of 
precedents  since  that  time  to  sustain  this  early  action  of  the  Min- 
nesota Republicans,  but  in  those  days  no  precedents  were  neces- 
sary, and  they  simply  proceeded  to  be  a  law  unto  themselves. 

CL4IM  OF  THE  DEMOCRATS. 

The  contention  of  the  Democrats  was  twofold:  first,  that 
the  Republicans  did  not  have  a  majority  uncontested;  second, 
that  the  constitutional  convention,  being  ordered  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  the  secretary  of  the  territory,  Mr.  Chase,  who  was  an 
appointee  of  the  general  government,  was  the  proper  person  to 
call  the  convention  to  order.  The  original  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials  in  the  Republican  wing  showed  56,  though 
later  3  contestants  were  added,  making  59.  In  the  Democratic 
convention  there  were  53  participants,  though  the  committee  on 
credentials  only  reported  49  uncontested  seats. 

On  the  22nd  of  July  Delegate  Charles  E.  Flandrau  offered  a 
resolution  setting  forth  that  the  Democrats  had  over  1,600  major- 
ity in  the  territory ;  that  the  action  of  Register  of  Deeds  Ames 
in  issuing  certificates  to  the  four  Republican  delegates  was  illegal, 
and  that  the  body  at  the  other  end  of  the  capitol  was  a  band  of 
usurpers  and  revolutionists.  The  resolutions  provided  that  they 
should  be  transmitted  to  the  president  and  all  the  members  of  the 
cabinet.  These  resolutions  were  debated  during  a  portion  of 
each  day  for  five  days,  and  were  finally  adopted  on  the  27th 
of  July.  Having  thus  by  their  own  declaration  proved  them- 
selves to  be  entirely  legitimate,  the  Democrats  proceeded  to  elect 
permanent  officers,  choosing  Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley  for  president, 
and  Major  J.  J.  Noah  for  secretary.  Rev.  J.  G.  Riheldafifer  was 
elected  chaplain,  but,  evidently  thinking  that  wing  of  the  con- 
vention could  not  be  saved  by  prayer,  he  declined,  and  Rev.  John 
Penman  was  chosen  and  duly  served. 

2 


18  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

OVERTURE  FOR   PEACE. 

The  first  overture  for  peace  was  a  resolution  offered  by  Judge 
Sherburne  in  the  Democratic  convention,  providing  for  a  com- 
mittee of  five  to  confer  with  the  RepubHcans.  This  was  debated 
at  length  and  indefinitely  postponed  by  a  vote  of  23  to  19.  On 
August  loth  the  Republican  convention  adopted  a  similar  reso- 
lution and  sent  it  to  the  Democratic  body. 

The  Democrats  were  willing  to  confer  with  the  Republicans 
if  they  could  do  so  without  recognizing  them  as  a  constitutional 
convention.  Consequently  they  proposed  a  caucus  committee 
and  appointed  a  committee  of  five  for  this  mission.  The  Repub- 
licans declined  to  meet  a  caucus  committee;  and  when  their 
resolutions  asking  a  conference  reached  the  Democratic  conven- 
tion they  were  referred  to  the  caucus  committee,  which  promptly 
reported  that,  in  view  of  the  Republican  refusal  to  meet 
a  caucus  committee,  instead  of  a  convention  committee, 
the  convention  could  not  recognize  the  Republicans.  This 
action  was  adopted,  and  an  official  record  made  in  the 
proceedings  in  accordance  with  the  facts.  There  was 
really  no  principle  at  all  at  stake  in  all  this  controversy,  and 
looked  at  from  the  present  standpoint  it  seems  decidedly  child- 
ish. The  actors  themselves  evidently  took  that  view  later. 
They  were  all  anxious  for  the  admission  of  the  territory  as  a 
state,  and  if  they  went  to  Congress  with  two  constitutions  it 
would  simply  mean  delay  and  disadvantage  to  everyone.  There 
was  no  contest,  as  in  Kansas,  over  slavery,  or,  in  fact,  anything 
else.  It  was  merely  an  effort  to  establish  a  legal  charter  for  the 
state,  and,  as  passion  cooled,  common  sense  resumed  sway. 

On  the  1 8th  of  August  the  Republicans  again  made  a  move 
for  a  conference,  and  appointed  Messrs.  T.  J.  Galbraith,  Lewis 
McCune,  Cyrus  Aldrich,  L.  K.  Stannard  and  Thomas  Wilson 
as  a  committee.  The  same  day  that  was  done  A.  E.  Ames 
offered  a  resolution  in  the  Democratic  body  for  a  conference 
committee,  and  it  was  ordered  by  vote  of  33  to  20.  The  Demo- 
cratic committee  was  composed  of  W.  A.  Gorman,  J.  R.  Brown, 
William  Holcomb,  M,  Sherburne  and  W.  W.  Kingsbury.  It 
took  but  a  very  few  days  to  ascertain  that,  laying  politics  aside, 
there  was  practically  no  difference  of  opinion  upon  the  constitu- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  19 

tion.  On  August  27th  the  conference  committee  of  each  con- 
vention reported  the  same  document,  and  on  the  28th  both  con- 
ventions adopted  the  constitution.  It  only  remained  for  the 
joint  committee  on  enrollment  to  report  that  the  constitution 
mutually  agreed  upon  had  been  correctly  enrolled  to  complete 
the  work.  This  committee  was  composed  of  Moses  Sherburne 
(Democrat),  chairman;  L.  K.  Stannard  (Republican),  secretary; 
Joseph  R.  Brown,  W.  Holcomb,  W.  W.  Kingsbury,  on  the  part 
of  the  Democrats,  and  Thomas  J.  Galbraith,  Cyrus  Aldrich  and 
Charles  McClure  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans.  This  report 
was  made  on  August  29th,  and  the  double-headed  convention 
adjourned  on  that  day,  having  occupied  47  days,  during  41  of 
which  sessions  were  held.  The  constitution  was  ratified  by  a 
vote  of  the  people  on  Oct.  13,  1857,  but  it  was  not  until  May  11, 
1858,  that  Minnesota  formally  became  a  member  of  the  Union 
by  act  of  Congress. 

INCIDENTS    OF   THE    CONTEST. 

While  this  epitomizes  the  absolute  official  proceedings  of 
both  conventions,  there  were  numerous  incidents  of  interest  in 
connection  with  this  early  contest  that  are  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion. 

There  were  three  daily  papers  in  St.  Paul  at  that  time,  the 
Pioneer  and  Democrat,  published  by  Goodrich  &  Sommers,  the 
Minnesotian,  published  by  J.  W.  Owens  and  George  W.  Moore, 
and  the  Times,  published  by  T.  M.  Newson ;  the  two  latter  were 
Republican,  and  of  course  sustained  the  RepubHcan  convention 
and  belabored  the  Democratic.  At  the  beginning  the  Pioneer 
and  Democrat  was  sufficiently  enterprising  to  report  both  bodies. 
The  newspapers  in  those  days  did  not  indulge  in  display  head- 
ings, and  over  a  two  or  three-column  report  a  single  line,  bold- 
faced head  would  appear  "The  Constitutional  Convention,"  fol- 
lowing with  the  Democratic  proceedings ;  then  came  the  Repub- 
lican proceedings,  and  that  was  headed  "A  Republican  Meet- 
ing." The  Republican  papers  never  attempted  to  report  any 
proceedings  save  the  Republican,  but  would  occasionally  give 
excerpts  of  occurrences  in  the  Democratic  body.  The  Minne- 
sotian   headed    such    reports    "Border    Ruffian    Convention." 


20  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Almost  every  day  the  Minnesotian  had  an  editorial  fusillade 
against  the  Democrats.  After  a  few  days  the  Pioneer  and  Demo- 
crat dropped  its  report  of  the  "Republican  meeting,"  and  there- 
after to  be  informed  concerning  what  was  going  on  at  the  capitol 
it  was  necessary  to  read  the  papers  of  both  political  persuasions. 
Both  parties  held  frequent  caucuses,  in  fact  almost  every  even- 
ing, and  excitement  ran  high.  An  open  outbreak  between  the 
respective  bodies  was  anticipated,  and  many  members  of  both 
bodies  went  armed,  to  be  prepared  for  any  emergency. 

ACTUAL  HOSTILITIES. 

In  spite  of  the  suppressed  excitement  and  constantly  expected 
outbreak,  but  one  hostile  scene  really  occurred.  On  the  i8th 
of  August  the  RepubHcan  convention  appointed  a  conference 
committee,  and  on  the  same  day  the  Democratic  convention 
appointed  a  similar  committee.  Thomas  Wilson  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  committee  and  ex-Governor  Gorman  a 
member  of  the  Democratic. 

If  the  subsequent  events  had  not  absolutely  formed  a  portion 
of  the  official  proceedings,  being  duly  printed  and  preserved  in 
the  printed  record  of  the  conventions,  I  should  not  here  allude 
to  them,  and  in  doing  so  now  I  quote  from  the  records  rather 
than  give  any  version  of  my  own. 

An  affray  had  occurred  between  ex-Governor  Gorman  and 
Mr.  Wilson  on  the  25th  of  August.  This  occurred  during  a 
meeting  of  the  jomt  conference  committee,  the  appointment  of 
which  I  have  already  noted.  The  Pioneer  and  Democrat  at  that 
time  made  this  report  of  the  event: 

Mr.  Gorman  was  reclining  on  the  sofa,  and  Mr.  Wilson  sitting  facing 
him,  when  Mr.  Wilson  replied  to  Judge  Sherburne  that  there  were  some 
men  whom  he  hoped  would  understand  him,  in  whom  he  had  no  confi- 
dence personally  or  politically,  and  he  wanted  to  choose  his  own  asso- 
ciates. "But,"  said  Mr.  Wilson,  "I  do  not  apply  that  language  to  Judge 
Sherburne."  Mr.  Kingsbury  then  promptly  asked  Mr.  Wilson  if  he 
intended  that  language  for  him,  to  which  Wilson  replied,  "No,  sir;  but 
there  were  others  on  the  committee  whom  he  did  apply  it  to."  Where- 
upon Mr.  Gorman  raised  on  his  elbow  from  a  reclining  position  on  the 
sofa  and  asked  quietly  if  Mr.  Wilson  intended  the  offensive  language 
for  him,  to  which  Mr.  Wilson  replied,  looking  in  the  face  of  Mr.  Gor- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  21 

man,  "I  certainly  do  apply  it  to  you."  Whereupon  Mr.  Gorman  raised 
and  struck  Mr.  Wilson  with  the  small  end  of  his  gold-headed  cane  which 
he  then  held  in  his  hand  and  broke  it,  and  then  followed  with  blows  of 
his  fist.  They  were  promptly  separated,  and  while  two  persons  were 
holding  Mr.  Gorman,  Mr.  Wilson  seized  a  large  lead-headed  cane  and 
approached  Mr.  Gorman,  and  Gorman  said,  ''Don't  hold  me  until  he 
strikes  me  with  that  cane.  If  he  does  I  shall  make  a  more  summary 
defense  than  I  have." 

Mr.  Gorman  shortly  after  passed  out  of  the  room  and  returned 
in  a  minute  or  two  and  took  up  his  hat  and  walked  deliberately 
away. 

On  the  26th  of  August  Governor  Gorman  rose  In  the  Demo- 
cratic convention  to  a  question  of  personal  privilege.  He  read 
the  account  of  the  altercation,  and  in  tracing  down  the  offensive 
remark  to  himself  it  reminds  one  of  the  story  of  the  little  girl 
playing  with  her  kitten  in  a  room  where  she  and  her  grandmother 
were  the  only  occupants.  When  her  grandmother  had  reproved 
her  for  some  transgression  the  little  girl  stroked  the  kitten  and 
said,  "There  is  some  one  in  this  room  that  I  wish  was  dead,  and 
it  isn't  you,  Kitty,  and  it  isn't  me." 

Governor  Gorman  read  the  report  from  the  Pioneer  Demo- 
crat, which  I  have  quoted  above,  as  his  explanation  of  the  event, 
and,  as  it  appears  in  the  official  record  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention, it  seems  fair  to  present  it  here,  though  he  has  long  since 
passed  from  life's  activities. 

In  the  Republican  convention  the  next  day,  August  27th, 
Judge  Wilson  rose  and  made  a  lengthy  personal  explanation. 
This,  too,  is  spread  upon  the  pages  of  the  volume  reporting  the 
Republican  convention,  and  that  both  sides  may  be  properly  rep- 
resented I  again  quote  from  the  official  record.  Judge  Wilson 
began  by  stating  that  he  responded  to  a  question  by  Judge  Sher- 
burne. 

"There  are  some  gentlemen  that  I  wish  would  always  understand 
me.  I  prefer  to  choose  my  own  companions."  Those,  I  think  are  the 
very  words  I  used.  As  to  Judge  Sherburne  feeling  insulted  and  demand- 
ing an  explanation  that  is  a  flat  lie,  got  up  by  those  who  retail  it,  who- 
ever they  may  be — an  unmitigated  lie.  Judge  Sherburne,  I  am  confi- 
dent, will  state  that  fact  if  called  upon.  To  him  I  appeal  in  confidence. 
*  *  *  I  made  the  remark  I  above  stated,  and  Governor  Gorman  rose 
up  and  asked  me  if  I  meant  him  by  that  remark.     I  told  him  certainly. 


22  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

I  spoke  it  out  flatly,  with  no  reservation.  I  was  sitting  by  a  round 
table  in  the  corner  of  the  room.  I  had  been  sitting  a  few  minutes  with 
my  feet  upon  the  table,  and  whether  I  was  in  that  position  at  the 
moment,  I  do  not  certainly  know.  Those  present  say  I  was  and  my 
recollection  is  that  I  was.  He  took  his  cane — every  man  knows  it  was 
a  heavy  cane — and  struck  me  over  the  head  before  I  could  place  myself 
in  a  position  to  defend  myself.  I  was  then  in  a  position  in  which  I  could 
not  defend  myself  in  any  possible  way.  I  was  struck  to  the  floor,  and 
as  I  rose  I  saw  this  man — the  most  consummate  and  the  basest  coward 
I  ever  saw  in  my  life — diagonally  across  the  room.  I  picked  up  a  frag- 
ment of  the  cane  and  finding  it  of  no  use  for  my  purpose  I  seized  my 
own,  when  I  saw  him  shrinking  away  into  the  corner  of  the  room  and 
crying,  "Don't  let  him  strike  me  with  that  cane."  He  immediately  left 
the  room.  Where  he  went  I  do  not  know.  My  friends  could  not  ascer- 
tain, and  as  I  understand  he  continued  in  some  place  around  the  capitol 
until  nearly  dark,  and  then  with  two  men  in  his  buggy  to  guard  him 
went  home. 

Referring  to  Mr.  Gorman's  statement  of  the  attempt  of  Wil- 
son to  strike  him  with  a  lead-headed  cane,  Mr.  Wilson  spoke  in 
addition,  and  it  is  thus  recorded  in  the  official  report: 

Now  as  to  that,  we  were  standing  opposite  to  each  other  across  the 
room.  There  were  a  number  of  men  close  around  me  to  prevent  me 
from  crossing  the  room  to  him,  and  he  on  the  other  side  of  the  room 
evidently  much  alarmed  for  his  safety,  no  person  holding  him  or  having 
a  hand  upon  him.  For  all  that  matter  all  that  was  necessary  was  to 
hold  him  from  jumping  out  of  the  window. 

On  the  same  day  a  resolution  was  offered  in  the  Republican 
convention,  declaring  that  they  would  no  longer  confer  with  the 
Democratic  convention  until  Gorman  was  removed  from  the 
committee.  This  resolution,  however,  was  not  pressed  and  did 
not  pass.  The  work  of  the  conference  committee  was  nearly 
completed,  and,  notwithstanding  the  bitter  feeling  which  existed, 
it  was  apparently  smothered  for  the  time  being  for  the  public 
good. 

One  of  the  incidents  of  the  afifair  was  a  subscription  for  one 
dollar  each,  which  Michael  E.  Ames  took  up  among  the  Demo- 
crats. He  went  to  them,  saying,  "Governor  Gorman  has  broken 
his  cane  and  we  want  to  buy  him  a  new  one."  The  response 
was  prompt,  and  another  gold-headed  cane  was  soon  secured, 
which  bore  this  inscription: 

Presented  to  Willis  A.  Gorman  by  the  Democratic  members  of  the 
constitutional  convention  for  valuable  services  rendered  the  party. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  23 

The  closing  business  in  each  convention  was  in  keeping  with 
the  proceedings  throughout.  The  Democrats  controlled  the  ter- 
ritorial government,  George  Armstrong  of  St.  Paul  being  treas- 
urer. 

While  by  the  act  of  the  territorial  legislature  $30,000  had  been 
appropriated  and  a  per  diem  of  $3  per  day  fixed  as  the  pay  of 
the  delegates,  the  treasurer  refused  to  pay  anything  to  the  Repub- 
licans, but  paid  the  Democrats  regularly.  A  few  minutes  before 
the  Democratic  convention  adjourned,  A.  E.  Ames  offered  a 
resolution  naming  53  Republicans  as  entitled  to  compensation, 
coupled  with  the  request  to  the  treasurer  that  he  pay  them  their 
per  diem.  W.  P.  Murray  of  St.  Paul  moved  that  it  be  laid  on 
the  table,  and  the  motion  prevailed. 

The  next  motion  was  for  adjournment  sine  die. 

While  this  was  going  on  in  the  Democratic  convention,  Mr. 
Thomas  Foster  in  the  Republican  convention  offered  a  resolution, 
the  preamble  of  which  arraigned  the  Democrats  for  bad  faith  in 
refusing  to  pay  the  Republicans  after  the  compromise  constitu- 
tion had  been  agreed  upon,  stating  that  part  of  the  compact  was 
to  allow  them  salaries.  His  preamble  concluded  with  this  reso- 
lution : 

Resolved,  That  the  violation  of  honor  and  faith  on  the  part  of  the 
Democratic  minority  convention  implied  by  this  action  on  their  part 
and  the  territorial  treasurer  should  receive,  and  we  doubt  not  will 
receive,  the  condemnation  of  all  honest  men;  and  we  appeal  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Minnesota  to  rectify  the  wrong  of  this  action  of  a  partisan  terri- 
torial officer,  the  appointee  of  the  present  governor,  acting  under  the 
influence  of  a  partisan  convention. 

On  motion  of  Amos  Coggswell,  the  resolution  was  indefi- 
nitely postponed,  and  the  next  motion  in  the  Republican  conven- 
tion was  for  the  final  adjournment.  The  Republican  delegates 
were  subsequently  paid,  though  no  record  appears  showing  just 
how  that  conclusion  was  reached.  The  original  appropriation 
of  the  territorial  legislature  for  the  expenses  of  the  constitutional 
convention  was  $30,000,  but  State  Auditor  Dunbar  sent  a  report 
to  the  legislature  in  i860  stating  that  the  total  cost  was  $59,803.07. 
The  original  amount  was  considerably  increased  by  the  neces- 
sity of  issuing  the  debates  in  two  volumes  owing  to  the  partisan 
quarrel. 

Probably  in  the  hope  that  their  pay  would  be  forthcoming 
in  the  future,  the  Republican  convention  closed  with  prayer. 


OBSERVATION  THREE. 


The  Final  Admission  of  the  State — Three  Governors  at  the 

Same  Time. 


As  the  continuation  of  Minnesota  as  a  territory  was  a  large 
bill  of  expense  to  the  general  government,  our  people  supposed 
that  it  was  only  necessary  to  conform  with  the  legal  requirements 
to  at  once  become  a  state.  As  the  constitution  was  to  be 
adopted  in  October,  and  the  legislature. and  state  officers  were 
elected  at  the  same  time,  the  document  provided  that  the  first 
state  legislature  should  meet  in  December,  1859.  The  Demo- 
crats carried  the  state,  electing  Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley  governor,  and 
George  L.  Becker,  J.  M.  Cavanaugh  and  W.  W.  Phelps  mem- 
bers of  Congress.  It  was  uncertain  just  how  many  members 
would  be  allowed  the  state,  but  in  order  to  keep  on  the  safe 
side  it  was  decided  to  elect  three.  Congress  finally  allowed  but 
two,  and  the  three  members  elected  cast  lots,  the  result  being 
that  Mr.  Becker  lost,  and  Cavanaugh  and  Phelps  served  as  the 
first  members  of  Congress  from  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  meeting  of  the  State  Legislature 
Minnesota  was  still  a  territory.  The  House  of  Representatives 
was  Democratic,  having  been  elected  at  the  same  time  as 
Buchanan,  in  1856,  but  there  was  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion 
growing  up  between  the  northern  and  southern  Democrats. 
The  southern  Democrats  were  not  anxious  to  admit  any  more 
free-state  congressmen,  and,  as  the  admission  of  Minnesota 
would  give  the  Democrats  two  more  votes,  the  Republicans  were 
nothing  loth  to  have  delay.  Here  was  a  dilemma.  Locally  the 
state  government  was  provided  for,  but  nationally  not  recognized. 
Governor  Medary  was  still  the  executive,  but  he  was  a  territorial 
governor,  while  Sibley  was  the  state  governor-elect.  Minnesota^ 
however,  was  adequate  to  the  emergency.  Her  State  Legisla- 
ture went  right  along  passing  laws,  and  they  were  duly  signed 

(24) 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  25 

by  C.  L.  Chase,  secretary  of  the  territory,  as  acting  governor. 
He  certified  them  as  secretary  besides.  Practically  Minnesota 
had  three  governors  at  the  same  time.  Sibley  was  governor- 
select;  Chase  signed  the  bills  passed  by  the  legislature  as  acting 
governor,  and  Medary  drew  his  salary  as  territorial  governor 
until  May  24,  1858. 

On  a  close  legal  construction  it  is  questionable  whether  any 
of  these  laws  were  strictly  legal.  By  good  fortune  the  late 
Charles  E.  Flandrau  had  been  appointed,  in  July,  1857,  a  territo- 
rial judge,  and  he  was  also  elected  in  October,  1857,  as  one  of 
the  associate  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Consequently  he 
had  a  pretty  good  title  to  his  position  whether  Minnesota  was  a 
territory  or  a  state.  The  question  of  the  legality  of  the  laws 
passed  under  such  peculiar  circumstances  would  naturally  reach 
the  courts,  and  Judge  Flandrau  was  the  first  judge  called  upon 
to  pass  upon  the  question.  He,  of  course,  promptly  decided 
that  they  were  all  right,  and  no  successful  attack  was  ever  made, 
later,  to  question  their  legality.  In  a  historical  address  deliv- 
ered some  years  before  his  death,  Judge  Flandrau  thus  spoke 
of  that  incident  in  his  judicial  career : 

With  that  common  sense  which  should  always  govern  a  frontier 
judge,  I  held  it  was  all  right  and  perfectly  constitutional.  What  else 
could  one  do?  They  had  passed  an  immense  bookful  of  laws,  and  the 
job  of  declaring  them  all  unconstitutional  at  once  was  rather  too  formid- 
able an  undertaking  for  a  boy.  So  I  did  the  only  common  sense  thing 
there  was  to  do.  But  I  felt  a  good  deal  as  the  jury  did  when  it  acquit- 
ted the  man  of  murder,  but  said  he  must  be  careful  not  to  do  it  again. 

It  was  on  the  nth  day  of  May,  1858,  that  Congress  passed 
the  act  admitting  Minnesota  into  the  Union,  and  as  soon  as  the 
slow  process  of  official  information  could  reach  the  state,  which 
was  May  24th,  Medary  retired,  and  General  Sibley  took  his  seat 
as  governor.  After  enacting  laws  up  to  March  25th  the  legisla- 
ture took  a  recess  until  June  2nd,  in  order  to  be  ready  for  more 
business  as  soon  as  the  admission  had  taken  place.  Upon  re-as- 
sembling a  session  of  three  months  was  held,  this  time  the  acts 
being  signed  by  the  actual  governor  of  the  state. 

And  thus  through  tribulation  and  bitter  political  strife  Min- 
nesota framed  her  organic  law  and  became  one  of  the  stars  in 
the  Union. 


OBSERVATION  FOUR. 


The  Attempt  to   Remove  the    Capital   of  the   State   to   St. 
Peter,  and  How  It  Was  Defeated  by  Stealing  the  Bill. 


I 
One  of  the  most  interesting  legislative  episodes  which  ever 
took  place  in  the  history  of  Minnesota  occurred  during  the 
session  of  the  territorial  legislature  in  the  fall  of  1857.  The  ter- 
ritory was  in  a  transition  state,  anxiously  awaiting  the  time 
when  it  could  don  the  garb  of  statehood.  The  organic  act  of 
Minnesota,  passed  by  Congress  in  March,  1849,  contained  this 
proviso  concerning  the  location  of  the  capital: 

The  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  shall  hold 
its  first  session  in  St.  Paul,  and  at  its  first  session  the  governor  and 
legislative  assembly  shall  locate  and  establish  a  temporary  seat  of  govern- 
tnent  for  said  territory  at  such  place  as  they  may  deem  eligible,  and 
shall  at  such  time  as  they  shall  see  proper  prescribe  by  law  the  manner 
of  promoting  the  permanent  seat  of  government  of  said  territory  by- 
vote  of  the  people. 

About  this  time  a  real  estate  pool  was  made  up  to  perma- 
nently remove  the  capital  from  St.  Paul,  based  upon  the  claim 
that  under  the  clause  quoted  it  could  be  done  by  legislation, 
without  submitting  it  to  a  vote  of  the  people.  With  this  end 
in  view  the  St.  Peter  Land  Company,  which  had  been  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  booming  a  townsite  at  that  point,  entered  the 
lists  to  secure  the  capital.  A  shrewd  combination  was  made  in 
the  legislature,  and  Gov.  WilHs  A.  Gorman,  then  the  execu- 
tive of  the  territory,  was  one  of  the  leading  stockholders  in  the 
company.  From  the  beginning  of  the  session  the  matter  was 
current  talk,  and  on  the  5th  of  February  Mr.  Thomas,  a  member 
of  the  house,  gave  notice  of  a  bill  for  the  removal.     On  the  6th 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  27 

of  February  W.  D.  Lowry  of  Rochester  introduced  a  bill  in  the 
council  (the  branch  which  we  now  term  the  senate)  for  the 
removal,  and  Mr.  Thomas'  bill  was  never  heard  of  thereafter. 

Notwithstanding  the  talk  which  had  been  made,  the  people 
of  St.  Paul  had  not  believed  it  would  materialize,  and  indigna- 
tion and  excitement  was  great  when  the  bill  appeared.  A  com- 
bination had  been  made  sufficiently  strong  to  put  the  measure 
through  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  while  the  St.  Paul  people 
had  been  sleeping  in  the  fancied  security  of  possession.  For 
decency's  sake  a  little  time  was  taken,  and  it  was  not  until  Febru- 
ary 9th,  three  days  after  the  introduction,  that  the  bill  was  con- 
sidered in  committee  of  the  whole  and  ordered  to  its  third  read- 
ing by  a  vote  of  7  to  6.  Three  days  later  the  council  passed 
the  bill  by  a  vote  of  8  to  7.  This  was  the  exact  strength  of  the 
respective  parties.  The  house  acted  with  greater  promptness, 
the  bill  being  read  the  first  and  second  times  on  the  i6th,  and 
on  the  17th  it  came  up  for  its  third  reading.  Its  opponents 
sought  to  prevent  a  vote  by  filibustering  tactics,  but  the  post- 
ponement was  very  brief,  the  bill  passing  the  house  on  the  i8th 
by  a  vote  of  20  to  17.  There  was  quite  a  little  controversy  over 
the  title  to  the  bill,  and  William  Branch  of  St.  Paul  moved  to 
make  the  title  read,  "A  Bill  for  the  Sale  of  Town  Lots  in  St. 
Peter's.''  The  townsite  boomers  were  in  great  glee,  as  they 
knew  the  governor  was  sure  to  sign  the  bill,  but  the  opponents 
of  the  removal  had  by  no  means  given  up  the  fight.  There  were 
loud  charges  of  bribery,  and  they  were  undoubtedly  well  founded 
in  many  cases.  There  was  no  money  floating  about  those  days, 
but  a  townsite  company  could  distribute  wealth  with  as  much 
lavishness  as  Satan  when  he  made  his  tempting  oflfer  at  an  early 
period  in  the  world's  existence.  There  were  millions  in  the  St. 
Peter  townsite  with  the  capital  in  view,  and  the  promises  of  lots 
made  by  the  land  company  were  sufficient  to  give  fortunes  to 
everyone  in  the  territory  and  still  have  abundance  left  for  them- 
selves. 

While,  of  course,  there  is  no  such  official  record,  it  was 
stated  at  the  time,  and  undisputed  by  the  persons  accused,  that 
every  member  of  either  branch  of  the  legislature  voting  for  the 
capital  removal  had  deeds  for  town  lots  in  St.  Peter  already  in 


28  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

his  pocket.  If  there  was  anyone  omitted  it  was  certainly  because 
he  lacked  legislative  acumen. 

There  was  so  much  talk  of  this  kind  that,  after  an  angry 
debate  in  the  house,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  investi- 
gate, and  later  a  resolution  was  adopted  calling  upon  the  com- 
mittee to  report,  but  nothing  ever  came  of  the  matter. 

In  the  senate  a  similar  resolution  was  offered,  but  it  went 
over  until  the  next  day,  and  no  action  was  ever  reached  on  it. 
On  February  26th  H.  N.  Setzer  of  Taylors  Falls,  who  had  offered 
the  resolution  for  investigation,  presented  the  following  in  the 
council : 

Whereas  suspicions  of  fraud  exist  in  regard  to  the  passage  of 
No.  62  Council  File,  a  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government 
of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  therefore  be  it  resolved  that  the  com- 
mittee on  enrolled  bills  be,  and  are  hereby,  instructed  to  retain  in  their 
possession  No.  62  Council  File,  a  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  until  otherwise  ordered  by 
the  council. 

This  resolution  provoked  considerable  debate,  but  was  of 
course  defeated  by  6  yeas  to  7  nays.  Many  of  the  members  of 
the  legislature  receiving  deeds  for  town  lots  put  them  on  record 
at  the  register  of  deeds'  office  in  Nicollet  county ;  but  the  legis- 
lature did  not  propose  to  incriminate  itself,  and  consequently  it 
was  wiser  to  stop  the  investigation. 

JOE   ROLETTE. 

But  now  came  the  episode  which  saved  the  capital  for  St. 
Paul.  Joe  Rolette  of  Pembina  was  a  member  of  the  council. 
Joe  has  been  commonly  supposed  to  be  a  half  or  quarter  breed 
Frenchman,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  was  a  full-blooded  French 
Canadian,  and  withal  a  very  bright  and  intelligent  man.  He 
had  been  educated  in  the  East,  and  was  a  warm  friend  of  St.  Paul. 
He  was  an  especially  warm  friend  of  H.  M.  Rice,  delegate  to 
Congress  from  Minnesota  when  Minnesota  was  a  territory.  It 
was  his  custom  at  home  to  wear  the  garb  of  an  Indian  because 
there  were  almost  no  white  men  in  his  locality.  But  when  he 
came  to  St.  Paul  he  would  go  to  the  most  fashionable  tailor 
which  the  little  village  afforded  and  order  the  finest  suit  of  clothes 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  29 

which  could  be  produced  in  the  town.  When  they  were  com- 
pleted Joe  would  don  them  and  say  to  the  tailor,  "Send  your  bill 
to  Mr.  Rice."  He  never  asked  or  had  authority  for  any  such 
proceeding,  but  Mr.  Rice,  who  was  a  prince  among  men,  never 
raised  any  question  relative  to  Joe's  authority,  but  simply  paid 
the  bills.  So  that  after  Joe  had  reached  the  city  a  short  time 
he  was  the  finest  dressed  man  in  town.  Luckily  for  St.  Paul, 
Joe  was  chairman  of  the  enrollment  committee  in  the  council, 
and  consequently  the  bill  removing  the  capital  to  St.  Peter  came 
into  his  possession.  He  received  it  on  the  27th  day  of  February. 
The  best  testimony  that  can  be  secured  is  to  the  effect  that 
Joe  had  no  intention  originally  of  running  away  with  the  bill; 
but  he  was  opposed  to  the  removal  and  thought  he  would  worry 
the  St.  Peter  crowd.  He  boarded  at  the  Fuller  House,  the  lead- 
ing hotel  in  the  city  at  that  time,  located  on  the  corner  of  Sev- 
enth and  Jackson  streets.  Truman  M.  Smith  had  a  bank  on  the 
ground  floor  of  the  hotel  building.  When  Joe  left  the  capitol 
on  the  27th  he  took  the  enrolled  bill  with  him,  and  before  going 
up  to  the  hotel  dropped  into  the  bank  and,  handing  it  to  Mr. 
Smith,  told  him  that  was  a  valuable  package,  and,  as  he  was  going 
away  for  a  little  while,  he  wanted  him  to  keep  it  until  he  returned. 
Then  he  went  to  the  hotel  and  told  Mr.  Long,  the  proprietor, 
that  he  was  going  to  change  his  room,  taking  one  on  the  top 
floor  of  the  building,  and  directing  that  it  be  given  out  at  the 
office  that  he  had  left  town.  When  he  found  the  excitement 
he  had  created  he  concluded  to  remain  in  hiding.  When  the  roll 
was  called  in  the  council  on  the  28th,  Rolette's  seat  was  vacant, 
and  the  capitol  removers  were  nervous.  A  call  of  the  council 
was  ordered,  and  John  M.  Lamb,  the  sergeant-at-arms,  was  sent 
out  to  obtain  the  missing  member.  The  full  council  was  com- 
posed of  fifteen  members,  and  all  were  present  but  Joe.  In  an 
unguarded  moment  the  capitol  removers  had  consented  to  a  call 
of  the  council,  but  they  soon  discovered  that  they  were  in  a  trap 
and  were  anxious  to  get  out.  John  B.  Brisbin  of  St.  Paul,  the 
president  of  the  council,  ruled  that  it  required  two-thirds  to  dis- 
pense with  the  call,  whereupon  Mr.  Balcombe  of  Winona  gravely 
argued  that  nine  was  two-thirds  of  fourteen.  Mr.  Balcombe 
spent  half  a  day  in  his  mathematical  argument,  but  Brisbin  was 


30  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

obdurate,  and  the  Winona  mathematics  made  no  impression  upon 
him. 

In  legislative  proceedings,  when  there  is  a  call  ordered  of  a 
given  body,  no  other  business  can  be  transacted  unless  by  unani- 
mous consent,  save  the  production  of  the  missing  member  or 
members ;  and  consequently,  so  long  as  the  call  of  the  council 
was  held  to  be  good,  nothing  could  be  done  until  Joe  was  pro- 
duced by  the  sergeant-at-arms. 

When  Balcombe  was  defeated  in  his  mathematical  argument, 
he  offered  a  resolution  calling  upon  Rolette,  as  chairman  of  the 
enrolling  committee,  to  return  the  bill  on  that  day,  and,  in  case  he 
did  not,  authorizing  Mr.  Wales,  the  next  member  of  the  com- 
mittee, to  procure  another  enrolled  copy  and  report  it  to  the 
council  on  Monday,  that  day  being  Saturday.  A  second  resolu- 
tion directed  Mr.  Wales  to  secure  the  signatures  of  the  speaker 
of  the  house  and  the  president  of  the  council  to  the  enrolled 
copy,  and  then  take  it  to  the  governor  for  his  signature.  Bal- 
combe read  these  resolutions  himself,  instead  of  sending  them 
to  the  secretary's  desk,  and  when  he  asked  for  action  the  presi- 
dent ruled  that  they  were  not  before  the  body.  Balcombe  then 
offered  to  withdraw  them,  but  the  president  ruled  that,  not  hav- 
ing been  presented,  they  could  not  be  withdrawn.  Balcombe 
was  in  something  of  the  position  of  the  new  policeman  who 
brought  a  prisoner  to  the  door  of  the  court  room  and  called  to 
the  judge  inside  that  the  prisoner  refused  to  come  in. 

"Bring  him  in,"  said  the  judge. 

"I  can't,"  yelled  the  policeman. 

"Come  in  yourself  without  him,"  said  the  judge. 

"He  won't  let  me,"  was  the  piteous  reply  of  the  policeman. 

As  the  hours  rolled  on  the  situation  became  more  aggravated. 
The  five  friends  of  St.  Paul  remained  resolute,  and  the  nine  could 
not  dispense  with  the  call  under  the  ruling  of  the  chair. 

Brisbin  frequently  called  Mr.  Setzer  to  the  chair  to  preside, 
and  one  morning  Mr.  Setzer  addressed  Mr.  Lamb,  the  sergeant- 
at-arms,  saying  to  him,  "Mr.  Lamb,  I  do  not  believe  you  are 
doing  your  duty."  Go  out  and  bring  Joe  Rolette  into  this  cham- 
ber, dead  or  alive."  Setzer  was  a  warm  friend  of  St.  Paul  and 
did  not  want  Joe  produced  at  all. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  SI 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  friends  of  St.  Paul  knew  where  Joe 
was  all  the  time,  and  Lamb  was  spending  his  nights  in  Joe's 
room  playing  cards  with  him,  reporting  each  morning  that  he 
could  not  find  him.  Other  St.  Paul  friends  were  doing  the  same 
thing.  Joe  was  furnished  with  luxurious  refreshments  and  was 
having  the  time  of  his  life,  as  well  as  being  the  hero  of  the  hour. 
Every  night  members  of  the  legislature  were  with  him  until  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning,  and  he  was  entirely  happy,  as  he 
knew  no  punishment  was  likely  to  be  inflicted. 

The  Sabbath  dawned,  and  still  the  council  was  under  the  call. 
Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday  and  Thursday  followed  with  the 
call  in  force.  The  journal  of  the  legislature  of  that  day  is  some- 
what interesting.  It  is  very  much  in  skeleton  form,  but  that  it 
may  be  preserved  in  a  record  easy  of  access  I  quote  from  the 
journal  of  Feb.  28,  1857: 

Mr.  Setzer  moved  a  call  of  the  council,  which  was  ordered,  and,  the 
roll  being  called,  Mr.  Rolette  was  absent. 

The  chair  ordered  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  report  Mr.  Rolette  in  his 
seat. 

Mr.  Balcombe  moved  that  all  further  proceedings  under  the  call  be 
dispensed  with.  Lost  by  9  yeas  to  5  nays,  the  president  deciding  that  a 
two-thirds  vote  was  necessary  to  suspend  the  call. 

Mr.  Balcombe  rose  in  his  place  and  contended  that  the  declaration 
of  the  vote  was  incorrect,  that  9  was  two-thirds  of  14,  and  the  vote 
should  have  been  declared  in  the  affirmative. 

The  chair  refused  to  change  the  declaration  of  the  vote. 

Mr.  Balcombe  claimed  an  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  chair. 

The  chair  refused  to  entertain  the  appeal. 

Mr.  Bassett  moved  that  the  council  adjourn,  and  upon  the  question 
there  were  yeas  9  and  nays  4. 

So  the  affirmative  of  the  question  prevailed,  and  the  council 
adjourned  at  i  p.  m.,  March  5,  A.  D.  1857,  after  having  continued  in 
session  without  adjournment  or  recess  123  hours. 

That  is  the  skeleton  official  report  of  five  days'  proceedings 
while  Joe  Rolette  was  in  hiding  with  the  bill. 

The  adjournment  was  a  compromise  agreement  that  when 
the  council  should  meet  again  it  would  still  be  under  the  call,  and 
it  so  met  on  the  6th  of  March  under  that  agreement.  The 
session  would  expire  by  constitutional  limitation  on  the  next  day, 
March  7th,  and  on  the  6th  the  sergeant-at-arms,  who  had  spent 


32  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

the  previous  night  in  Joe  Rolette's  room,  was  ordered  with  great 
emphasis  to  produce  Joe.  The  friends  of  St.  Peter  were  exceed- 
ingly gloomy,  and,  finding  it  useless  to  remain  in  continuous 
session,  agreed  to  another  adjournment,  with  the  council  to 
reassemble  for  the  last  time  on  the  7th,  the  call  still  to  be  in  force. 

The  last  day  the  friends  of  St.  Paul  were  so  jubilant  over 
results  that  they  became  almost  reckless,  and  absolutely  smuggled 
Joe  into  the  capitol  secretly.  There  had  been  no  day  or  night 
during  his  absence  when  some  members  of  the  legislature  had 
not  been  in  Joe's  society. 

The  council  was  to  expire  at  12  o'clock  noon  by  constitu- 
tional limitation,  and  as  the  pointers  of  the  clock  reached  that 
hour,  President  Brisbin  rapped  upon  his  desk  to  declare  the 
adjournment.  As  he  did  so,  by  preconcerted  arrangement,  Joe 
Rolette  burst  into  the  council  chamber  with  the  bill  and  submit- 
ted a  report.  Brisbin,  however,  refused  to  take  any  chances,  and 
simply  replying,  "You  are  too  late,  Mr.  Rolette,"  declared  the 
council  adjourned.  The  report  which  Joe  professed  to  desire 
to  make  read  as  follows : 

The  committee  on  enrolled  bills  would  respectfully  report  that,  owing 
to  the  absence  of  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  Bill  No.  62,  for  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  has 
not  been  reported  back  to  the  council. 

Your  committee  would  further  state  that  the  above  mentioned  bill 
might  have  been  reported  back  to  the  council  at  this  time,  but  that  after 
examining  the  enrolled  copy  of  said  bill  which  was  delivered  to  this 
committee,  and  comparing  it  with  the  engrossed  bill  by  the  secretary 
of  this  committee,  we  find  numerous  errors  in  the  enrolled  copy,  some 
portions  of  the  engrossed  bill  being  left  out  of  the  enrolled  copy,  and 
matters  being  inserted  in  the  enrolled  copy  which  are  not  in  the 
engrossed  bill.  Your  committee  cannot,  therefore,  report  the  said  bill 
as  correctly  enrolled,  but  retain  the  same  in  our  possession  subject  to  the 
order  of  the  council. 

The  interesting  feature  of  this  report  is  that  it  begins  with  the 
claim  that  it  could  not  have  been  earlier  reported  back,  owing  to 
the  absence  of  the  chairman,  and  still  is  signed  by  Joe  Rolette  as 
chairman  of  the  enrolling  committee. 

An  eflfort  was  made,  in  spite  of  all  this,  to  declare  the  bill  car- 
ried. A  copy  of  the  bill  in  some  form  was  taken  to  Governor 
Gorman,  and,  as  he  was  in  the   removal    scheme,  he  promptly 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  33 

signed  it.  But  it  could  not  become  a  law  without  the  signature 
of  Mr.  Brisbin,  president  of  the  council,  and  he,  being  a  resident 
of  and  resolute  friend  of  St.  Paul,  checkmated  the  scheme. 
Mr.  Brisbin  gave  the  following  seven  reasons  why  he  refused  to 
sign : 

1.  It  was  not  transmitted  from  the  council  to  the  house  by  an  official 
message. 

2.  It  did  not  come  to  me  from  the  secretary  of  the  council. 

3.  It  was  not  enrolled  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary. 

4.  It  was  not  reported  by  the  enrolling  committee. 

5.  I  have  no  evidence  that  any  bill  of  the  contents  of  the  accom- 
panying ever  passed  the  council. 

6.  The  certificate  purporting  to  be  made  by  the  secretary  of  the 
council  was  not  signed  by  him. 

7.  The  bill  had  been  out  of  the  hands  of  the  enrolling  committee 
and  in  the  possession  of  two  other  members  of  the  council  to  the  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  president. 

These  seven  reasons  are  attached  to  the  bill  and  published 
with  the  law  itself  in  the  volume  of  territorial  laws  for  1857. 

Brisbin's  5th  and  7th  reasons  put  in  juxtaposition  remind  one 
of  the  man  arraigned  for  horse-stealing,  who  submitted  the  double 
plea  that  he  never  had  a  horse,  and  if  he  did  have  a  horse  he 
didn't  steal  him. 

Governor  Gorman  appointed  W.  A.  Davis  of  Belle  Plaine, 
Scott  county,  M.  Grover  of  St.  Charles,  Winona  county,  and 
D.  A.  Secombe,  capitol  commissioners  to  erect  a  building  at  St. 
Peter.  They  advertised  for  proposals,  and,  in  contrast  with  the 
way  more  modern  and  expensive  state  capitols  are  erected,  the 
specifications  are  interesting.     They  ran  as  follows: 

Said  building  is  to  be  of  brick  or  stone,  of  two  stories,  the  lower 
one  about  20  feet  in  height.  The  upper  story  is  to  contain  two  rooms, 
about  50  by  60  feet  each,  and  one  room  about  40  by  50.  The  lower  story 
is  to  contain  at  least  12  rooms. 

Even  that  modest  building  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
erected,  but  the  land  company  and  enterprising  citizens  of  St. 
Peter  erected  a  frame  building  for  capitol  purposes,  which  was 
used  for  many  years  as  the  Nicollet  County  Court  House. 


34  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

On  June  29,  1857,  A.  F.  Howes,  president  of  the  St.  Peter 
Land  Company,  applied  to  Judge  R.  R.  Nelson,  one  of  the  jus- 
tices of  the  territorial  court,  for  a  writ  of  mandamus  to  compel 
the  removal  of  the  state  officers  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter.  On 
July  I2th  Judge  Nelson  filed  his  decision  which,  after  a  some- 
what elaborate  argument,  concluded  thus : 

We  are  of  the  opinion,  therefore,  that  there  has  been  no  law  passed 
by  the  legislative  power  of  the  territory  removing  the  capital  from 
St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter.  The  application  for  mandamus  is  therefore 
refused. 

And  thus  in  a  few  lines  perished  the  high  hopes  of  St.  Peter 
and  the  land  speculators  who  had  sought  to  make  their  fortunes 
by  the  capital  removal. 

After  the  legislature  had  finally  adjourned,  Joe  Rolette  was 
the  lion  of  the  hour.  A  great  torchlight  procession  was  made 
up,  headed  by  a  band,  and  Joe  was  escorted  in  triumph  through 
the  streets  of  the  little  city. 

Joe  was  in  no  sense  a  corrupt  man,  and  did  not  take  the  action 
he  had  with  any  view  of  pecuniary  reward ;  and  still  the  citizens 
of  St.  Paul,  in  their  gratitude,  raised  a  purse  of  $2,500  and  pre- 
sented it  to  him  after  the  matter  was  all  over.  But  Joe  was  a 
prince  in  social  hospitality,  and,  while  he  accepted  the  $2,500,  he 
remained  in  St.  Paul  long  enough  to  expend  nearly  the  whole 
sum  in  having  a  good  time,  so  that  practically  the  gift  was  taking 
it  out  of  one  pocket  and  putting  it  into  the  other. 

A  story  was  told  of  Joe  which  illustrates  his  business  sagacity 
as  well  as  his  idea  of  legislation.  While  he  was  a  member  of  the 
legislature  the  Minnesota  Valley  Railroad  land  grants  were  pend- 
ing, the  parcelling  out  of  lands  granted  by  Congress  to  the  terri- 
tory for  railroad  purposes.  It  was  not  supposed  in  those  days, 
and  perhaps  it  is  not  even  later,  that  any  such  thing  as  a  land 
grant  can  be  given  away  without  the  recipients  being  levied  upon 
for  a  portion  of  the  proceeds.  The  Minnesota  Valley  company, 
accordingly,  had  very  finely  engraved  stock  certificates  printed, 
which  were  marked  "Paid  up,"  and  offered  them  freely  in  $5,ooc 
lots  to  members  of  the  legislature  if  they  would  pass  the  bill 
which  they  wished,  disposing  of  the  lands  to  a  local  company. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  35 

A  friend  of  Joe  approached  him  when  the  bill  was  pending  and 
said  to  him: 

"Now,  these  are  our  own  people,  Joe,  that  want  this  land,  and  you 
ought  to  help  us.  I  think  that  I  can  get  you  $5,000  paid  up  stock  if  you 
will  vote  for  the  bill." 

Joe  thought  a  few  minutes,  and,  with  the  shrewdness  for  which  he 
was  remarkable,  replied: 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  your  paid-up  stock,  but  if  you  give 
me  $300  cash,  it's  a  go." 

Possibly  Joe  got  the  cash ;  at  all  events  he  voted  for  the  bill. 

A  member  of  the  same  legislature  was  drowned  a  few  months 
after  the  legislature  adjourned,  and  among  his  effects  the  admin- 
istrator found  one  of  these  $5,000  paid-up  certificates  of  stock. 
When  the  administrator  came  to  settle  the  estate  he  sold  it  at 
auction  as  a  curio  for  $5.  Based  on  this  as  a  business  transaction 
Joe  was  evidently  $295  ahead  of  the  man  who  was  drowned. 

Another  incident  of  that  celebrated  123  hours'  session  was 
the  refreshment  bill  rendered  by  Mr.  Long,  proprietor  of  the 
Fuller  House,  where  most  of  the  members  stopped.  Of  course, 
he  was  interested  in  St.  Paul  retaining  the  capital,  and,  while  they 
were  locked  up,  he  was  very  enthusiastic  and  sent  up  bounteous 
refreshments,  in  which  wine  was  a  large  factor.  He  kept  encour- 
aging the  St.  Paul  friends  to  stand  together,  and  he  would  keep 
them  supplied  with  the  best  there  was  on  earth  as  long  as  they 
would  remain.  The  council  chamber  was  a  sight  to  behold  when 
the  long  session,  without  adjournment  or  recess,  had  concluded. 
No  one  had  been  allowed  to  leave  the  room,  even  for  the  direst 
necessity,  except  in  charge  of  a  sergeant-at-arms.  But  when  it 
was  all  over,  and  St.  Paul  had  won,  Mr.  Long's  business  ideas 
overcame  his  supposed  generosity  and  patriotism  while  the  strug- 
gle was  pending,  and  he  rendered  a  bill  for  $500  for  refresh- 
ments, which,  after  a  good  deal  of  haggling  and  parleying,  was 
duly  paid. 

There  hangs  in  the  Historical  Society  rooms,  in  the  present 
state  capitol,  a  life-sized  portrait  of  Joe  Rolette,  presented  to  the 
society  by  the  late  Judge  Flandrau,  which  bears  this  inscription: 

Joe  Rolette,  who  saved  the  capital  to  St.  Paul  by  running  away  with 
the  bill  to  remove  it  to  St.  Peter,  1857. 


36  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

It  was  the  popular  impression  at  the  time  that  Joe  absolutely 
had  run  away  from  the  city,  and  to  keep  up  the  semblance  of  that 
the  sergeant-at-arms  sent  runners  to  his  former  home  in  Prairie 
du  Chien  and  his  then  residence  at  Pembina,  though  the  sergeant 
was  having  a  good  time  with  Joe  every  evening.  That  was  a 
secret  known  to  probably  15  or  20  persons  at  the  time,  and  it  is 
surprising  that  it  was  kept  a  secret  as  long  as  it  was.  But  if  Joe 
had  been  found  and  produced  vi  et  armis  in  the  council  he  had 
taken  such  precaution  that  he  would  not  have  had  the  bill  with 
him,  and  the  worst  that  could  have  happened  to  him  would  have 
been  temporary  imprisonment.  Consequently,  he  did  not  take 
very  serious  chances,  though  he  rendered  an  invaluable  service 
to  St.  Paul,  which  will  never  be  forgotten,  and  without  which  St. 
Paul  would  not  be  the  St.  Paul  of  to-day. 

W.   p.  MURRAY. 

As  Hon.  W.  P.  Murray  of  St.  Paul  has  figured  quite  con- 
spicuously in  this  capital  removal,  and  as  he  was  one  of  the  boon 
companions  who  spent  evenings  with  Joe  Rolette  while  he  was 
concealing  the  capital  removal  bill,  as  well  as  having  occupied 
many  public  positions  since,  it  is  perhaps  appropriate  to  give 
some  space  to  show  how  he  happened  to  get  his  start  in  political 
life.  We  all  know  him  in  St.  Paul  as  plain  "Bill"  Murray,  but 
for  the  purposes  of  this  history  and  to  the  state  at  large  I  record 
him  as  Hon.  William  P.  Murray. 

He  had  come  to  Minnesota  from  Indiana  a  dyed-in-the-wool 
Democrat;  and  at  the  time  he  entered  political  life  it  was  as 
much  a  surprise  to  him  as  a  stroke  of  lightning  would  have  been. 
In  some  way  he  became  quite  a  favorite  of  James  M.  Goodhue, 
the  editor  of  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat  at  St.  Paul.  Perhaps 
this  was  because  there  were  very  few  people  in  St.  Paul,  and 
Goodhue  had  to  have  some  favorites ;  at  all  events  Mr.  Murray 
could  never  account  for  the  fancy  which  Goodhue  took  to  him. 

A  little  over  a  year  after  his  arrival  an  election  for  member 
of  the  territorial  legislature  was  due.  He  was  going  along 
the  street  one  day  when  Goodhue  stopped  him  and  said,  *^Bill, 
how  would  you  like  to  go  to  the  legislature  ?"  Of  course,  he  was 
only  plain  Bill  Murray  then,  but  since  he  has  reached  the  propor- 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  87 

tions  of  Hon.  William  P.  Murray  he  says  if  it  should  now  be 
seriously  proposed  to  elect  him  president  of  the  United  States 
he  would  not  be  more  surprised  than  he  was  at  Goodhue's  sug- 
gestion. He  replied  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to  go  to  the 
legislature,  but  he  had  only  been  here  a  short  time,  and  there 
was  no  use  of  his  thinking  about  it.  Goodhue  assured  him  that 
there  was,  and,  if  he  wanted  it,  he  (Goodhue)  would  see  that  the 
Democrats  nominated  him. 

The  Democratic  convention  was  duly  called,  and  four  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  were  to  be  named.  Goodhue  and  his  pro- 
tege were  on  hand,  and  Goodhue  notified  the  manipulators  that 
he  wanted  Bill  to  be  one  of  the  nominees.  They  very  decidedly 
demurred  and  told  Goodhue  that  the  slate  was  made  up  and  it 
was  too  late.  Goodhue  was  an  aggressive  man,  and  felt  his 
power  as  having  the  only  Democratic  paper.  So  he  told  them, 
"Go  ahead,  but  I  will  knock  hell  out  of  your  ticket."  They  knew 
that  Goodhue  was  a  man  of  his  word,  and  this  was  a  warning 
which  could  not  be  ignored.  The  manipulators  consulted  a  few 
minutes  and  concluded  that  there  was  room  on  the  ticket  for 
Murray  after  all.  There  were  y6  men  in  the  convention,  and 
when  it  came  to  nominate  members  of  the  legislature  Bill  was 
one  of  those  selected,  receiving  75  votes.  He  was  triumphantly 
elected,  and  thus  began  his  public  career.  The  Hon.  William 
Pitt  Murray  of  to-day  can  therefore  be  pointed  to  as  a  living 
object  of  the  power  of  the  press. 


OBSERVATION  FIVE. 


How  Minneapolis  Might  Have  Been  the  Capital  of  the  State 

If  Her  Own  Members  of  the  Legislature  Had  Been 

Sharp  and  Wise. 


As  an  aftermath  to  the  attempted  removal  of  the  capital  from 
St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter,  and  also  as  a  forgotten  incident  of  history, 
it  is  well  to  here  record  the  fact  that  MinneapoHs  narrowly 
escaped  obtaining  the  capital  at  that  time.  When  the  state  house 
burned  in  St.  Paul,  in  March,  1881,  Minneapolis  made  a  vigorous 
effort  to  secure  the  capital,  tendering  the  state  Loring  Park  foi 
the  purpose  of  a  new  capitol  building.  It  is  probably  due  to 
the  Hon.  John  S.  Pillsbury  of  MinneapoHs,  then  governor  of  the 
state,  more  than  to  any  other  one  man  that  the  movement  did  not 
succeed.  And  still  at  the  time  of  the  attempted  removal  to  St. 
Peter  it  was  MinneapoHs  members  of  the  territorial  legislature 
who  prevented  that  city  obtaining  the  capital.  So  that  the  fact 
of  the  permanent  location  of  the  capital  and  capitol  building  in 
St.  Paul  can  be  credited  to  Minneapolis, 

The  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  capital  to  St.  Peter  had  passed 
the  council,  a  body  which  corresponded  to  our  present  senate, 
and  the  votes  in  the  house  had  demonstrated  that  the  land  pool 
was  sufficiently  strong  to  pass  it  in  that  body.  Governor  Gor- 
man was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  St.  Peter  movement,  so  that 
there  was  no  hope  from  him,  and  defeat  for  St.  Paul  seemed  as 
certain  as  anything  in  the  future  can  be.  Under  these  circum- 
stances the  members  from  St.  Paul  and  their  friends  decided  to 
put  in  effect  the  loose  talk  relative  to  Nicollet  Island  and  give 
Minneapolis  the  capital  as  the  choice  of  two  evils.  MinneapoHs 
was  not  much  more  than  a  hamlet,  while  St.  Anthony  was  quite 
a  town ;   but  the  two  combined  had  about  as  much  strength  in 

(88) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  39 

the  legislature  as  St.  Paul.  W.  P.  Murray  of  St.  Paul  was 
selected  to  make  the  tender,  and  under  date  of  February  17th, 
page  166,  legislative  journal,  this  paragraph  appears  relative  to 
the  capital  removal  bill  then  under  consideration: 

Mr.  Murray  moved  to  amend  the  bill  by  striking  out  the  word  "St. 
Peter"  wherever  it  occurs  and  insert  "Nicollet  Island,  between  Minne- 
apolis and  St.  Anthony;"    also  strike  out  the  second  section. 

The  second  section  was  the  offer  of  the  St.  Peter  Land  Com- 
pany to  donate  a  site  of  ten  acres  and  to  give  $20,000  in  cash 
for  a  capitol  (this  was  the  sum  appropriated  by  the  general 
government  for  a  capitol  at  St.  Paul),  and  also  provide  a  tempo- 
rary building  for  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  until  such  time 
as  the  capital  could  be  removed.  By  substituting  Nicollet  Island 
for  St.  Peter  and  striking  out  this  second  section,  Minneapolis 
was  absolutely  put  in  the  place  of  St.  Paul,  and  the  tender  of  the 
capital  was  thus  made  without  money  and  without  price.  The 
government  appropriation  for  the  building  would  have  been 
expended  at  Minneapolis  instead  of  St.  Paul,  and  as  the  bill  did 
not  go  to  the  people,  the  removal  would  have  been  absolute  and 
complete. 

I  do  not  assume  that  this  offer  was  made  for  any  especial 
love  for  Minneapolis,  but  I  am  satisfied  it  was  made  in  good 
faith,  for  the  double  reason  that  St.  Paul  was  enraged  at  the  St. 
Peter  crowd,  and  if  she  could  not  keep  the  capital  herself  pre- 
ferred to  have  it  in  the  neighborhood. 

Since  I  began  work  upon  this  book  I  have  talked  with  Mr. 
Murray  in  person,  and  he  assures  me  most  positively  that  he 
made  the  proposition  in  the  utmost  good  faith,  and  intended  to 
carry  it  through  if  he  could.  I  think  it  will  surprise  a  good  many 
people  of  Minneapolis  at  this  date  to  learn  that  this  proposition 
was  lost  by  the  votes  of  the  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  mem- 
bers, while  every  member  from  St.  Paul,  five  in  number,  voted  to 
give  Minneapohs  the  prize. 

The  vote  by  which  Mr.  Murray's  amendment  was  lost  was 
18  for  it  and  19  against  it,  and  among  the  18  were  William 
Branch,  A.  T.  Chamblin,  WiUiam  P.  Murray,  William  Costello 
and  J.  C.  Ramsey,  all  of  St.  Paul,  with  Asa  Keith  and  W.  Hayden 


40  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

of  Minneapolis.  There  were  no  St.  Paul  votes  against,  but 
there  were  Jonathan  Chase  and  Henry  Heichtman  of  St.  An- 
thony, and  John  M.  Troll  and  J.  P.  Plummer  of  Minneapolis  in 
the  negative.  Here  were  four  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis 
votes  in  the  negative,  which,  if  transposed,  would  have  carried 
the  capital  to  Nicollet  Island  by  a  vote  of  22  to  15  against.  This 
is  assuming  that  the  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  members  went 
over,  which  would  be  very  natural,  and  leaving  all  the  other  St. 
Peterites  to  stick  to  their  text.  One  of  the  excuses  as  given  by 
the  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  members  of  the  house  for  vot- 
ing as  they  did  was  that  it  was  a  trick  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul  to 
send  the  bill  back  to  the  council  with  an  amendment  and  there 
kill  the  whole  scheme.  I  think  this  was  erroneous,  and  their 
action  was  a  fatal  mistake  for  them.  The  bill  had  passed  the 
council  by  the  close  vote  of  8  to  7.  Among  the  8  voting  for  the 
bill  were  W.  W.  Wales  of  St.  Anthony  and  Joel  B.  Bassett  of 
Minneapolis.  Of  the  7  voting  in  the  negative  subsequent  pro- 
ceedings proved  that  only  one,  Mr.  Tillotson,  could  under  any 
circumstances  be  relied  upon  to  go  to  the  side  of  St.  Peter.  The 
St.  Anthony-Minneapolis  members  of  the  council  therefore,  by 
changing  their  votes  to  Nicollet  Island  if  the  amended  bill  had 
ever  reached  them,  would  have  been  sure  of  6  votes  uniting  with 
them,  which  would  have  reversed  the  figures  and  passed  the  bill 
in  the  council,  giving  Minneapolis  the  capital  by  8  to  7.  Quota- 
tions from  the  record  I  have  already  made  demonstrate  beyond 
denial  that  the  Nicollet  Island  bill  would  have  passed  the  house 
if  Minneapolis  had  supported  it,  and  as  corroborative  evidence 
that  it  could  also  pass  the  council,  I  cite  that  an  indignation  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Minneapolis  at  Woodman's  Hall,  on  February 
28th,  for  the  special  purpose  of  censuring  Messrs.  Bassett  and 
Wales,  members  of  the  council,  because  they  had  favored  St. 
Peter  instead  of  Minneapolis.  Bear  in  mind  that  this  censure 
was  adopted  without  their  having  absolutely  voted  against  Min- 
neapolis, and  in  consequence  must  have  been  made  on  the  basis 
that  they  would  do  so,  or  that  they  had  been  influential  in  defeat- 
ing the  Nicollet  Island  scheme  in  the  house.  The  meeting  in 
question  was  presided  over  by  John  H.  Spear,  with  H.  S.  Plum- 
mer as  secretary.  The  committee  on  resolutions  was  composed 
of  E.  Murphy,  F.  R.  E.  Cornell,  Dr.  Anderson,  W.  J.  Parkson, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  41 

and  W.  A.  Hotchkiss.  Mr.  Hotchkiss  was  editor  of  the  Minne- 
sota Democrat,  printed  at  Minneapolis,  and  subsequently  repu- 
diated the  resolutions.  Mr.  Cornell  was  the  orator  of  the  occa- 
sion, though  many  others  spoke,  and  he  roundly  censured  Bas- 
sett  and  Wells  and  also  the  members  of  the  house  who  had 
refused  to  sustain  Murray's  amendment. 

It  was  claimed  at  the  time  that  there  were  600  present,  and 
only  2  negative  votes  were  cast  on  the  resolutions,  which  were 
as  follows: 

Whereas,  We  learn  that  there  is  a  determination  on  a  part  of  the 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  this  territory 
to  remove  the  capital  from  St.  Paul;    and 

Whereas,  There  is  now  a  bill  before  said  legislative  assembly,  or 
about  to  be  produced,  for  their  consideration,  providing  for  the  removal 
and  permanent  location  of  the  capital  to  Nicollet  Island,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  building;    therefore. 

Resolved,  That  believing  it  to  be  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the 
citizens  of  the  Eleventh  Council  District,  and  particularly  to  the  imme- 
diate constituency  of  the  councilmen  and  members  of  Hennepin  county, 
we  do  urgently  request  our  member  of  the  council  and  members  of  the 
house  to  use  all  lawful  and  honorable  means  to  secure  the  passage  of 
the  bill  above  referred  to. 

Resolved,  That  we  emphatically  disapprove  of  the  votes  given  by  the 
Hon.  Joel  B.  Bassett  of  the  Council,  and  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Plummer  of 
the  house  upon  the  bill  providing  for  the  removal  of  the  capital  from 
St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter,  as  being  in  direct  conflict  with  the  best  interests 
of  their  constituents,  and  we  heartily  approve  the  course  pursued  by 
the  Hon.  W.  D.  Smith,  Asa  Keith  and  Samuel  Hayden  in  opposition  to 
said  measure,  and  tender  them,  therefore,  the  plaudit  "Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servants." 

Smith  was  in  favor  of  Nicollet  Island,  but  was  absent,  owing 
to  sickness,  when  the  vote  was  taken. 

As  further  corroborative  evidence,  showing  that  Minneapolis 
could  have  secured  the  state  capital  at  the  time  mentioned,  it  can 
be  cited  that  a  counter  meeting  was  held  on  March  3d  to  defend 
the  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  members  for  their  course  in 
spurning  the  proposition.  A  report  of  this  meeting  was  sent 
officially  to  the  Minnesotian,  published  at  St.  Paul,  and  an  extract 
from  that  is  perhaps  the  best  evidence.  I  accordingly  quote 
from  the  Minnesotian  of  March  6,  1857 : 


42  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  meeting  was  addressed  by  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Bassett.  In  the 
course  of  his  remarks  he  stated  the  reason  why  he  voted  for  the  removal 
to  St.  Peter  and  the  bearing  it  possibly  would  have  on  the  future  growth 
and  prosperity  of  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis,  clearly  showing  that  it 
was  for  the  interest  of  these  towns  to  have  the  seat  of  government  at 
some  place  where  the  members  of  the  legislature  would  not  be  bought 
and  sold  like  sheep  in  the  shambles. 

It  is  really  sad  to  think  that  Mr.  Bassett  should  have  had  so 
poor  an  opinion  of  the  locality  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nicollet 
Island   as  his  remarks  indicate. 

Another  argument  deduced  was  that  if  Minneapolis  got  the 
capital  she  would  lose  the  university.  At  that  time  the  univer- 
sity was  so  small  an  affair  compared  with  the  capital  that  this 
did  not  seem  a  strong  argument.  At  this  time  the  university  is 
the  more  valuable  of  the  two.  However,  the  meeting  was  called 
to  endorse  the  members  of  the  legislature  for  refusing  to  accept 
the  great  gift,  and,  of  course,  it  had  to  be  done.  This  meeting 
was  presided  over  by  Charles  Clarke.  C.  G.  Ames,  C.  Beebee 
and  H.  B.  Wright  were  the  committee  on  resolutions.  Minne- 
apolis was  evidently  short  of  secretaries  in  those  days,  and  H.  S. 
Plummer  was  accordingly  secretary  of  this  meeting,  just  as  he 
had  been  of  the  other  one  three  days  previous.  The  resolutions 
adopted,  which  really  practically  concede  that  the  capital  might 
have  been  secured,  were  as  follows : 

Whereas,  At  a  public  meeting,  held  in  this  place,  on  Saturday  even- 
ing last,  resolutions  were  adopted  disapproving  of  the  course  of  Hon.  J. 
B.  Bassett  and  Hon.  J.  P.  Plummer  in  voting  for  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  government  to  St.  Peter;    and 

Whereas,  The  reasons  which  induced  these  honorable  gentlemen 
thus  to  vote  were  not  then  properly  understood  as  we  now  understand 
them,  after  hearing  the  statements  of  Hon.  J.  B.  Bassett  relative  thereto; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  adoption  of  those  resolutions  as  prema- 
ture, and  are  satisfied  that  the  argument  in  justification  of  the  course 
of  the  gentlemen  aforesaid  is  at  least  as  sound  and  weighty  as  that 
adduced  by  those  in  opposition  to  the  removal. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  urgently  desire  to  see  the  establishment  of 
the  capital  on  Nicollet  Island,  we  are  nevertheless  unwilling  that  the 
members  of  the  legislature  from  Hennepin  county  should  use  any  dishon- 
orable means  or  endanger  any  other  important  interest  to  secure  that 
object. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  43 

Resolved,  That  we  have  entire  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  good 
sense  of  the  honorable  gentlemen  both  referred  to,  and  are  pleased  to 
know  that  they  have  not  allowed  themselves  to  be  outgeneraled  by  those 
who  would  make  the  aggrandizement  of  St.  Paul  the  chief  end  of  all 
legislation. 

As  additional  evidence  of  the  failure  of  the  people  of  Minne- 
apolis to  grasp  the  situation  at  that  time  and  take  advantage  of 
it,  I  quote  from  an  editorial  in  the  Minneapolis  Democrat  of 
March  7th.  The  paper  was  edited  by  W.  A.  Hotchkiss.  At 
that  time  he  said : 

About  the  middle  of  last  week  we  met  in  the  assembly  chamber  in 
St.  Paul,  Messrs.  J.  H.  Spear,  Colonel  Case,  E.  Murphy  and  others, 
citizens  of  this  place,  and  were  solicited  by  them  to  approach  councilors 
and  representatives  from  this  county  and  request  them  to  repeal  the 
law  removing  the  capital  to  St.  Peter,  preparatory  to  the  presentation 
of  another  bill  to  remove  it  to  Nicollet  Island,  We  positively  refused 
to  meddle  with  the  matter  one  way  or  the  other  unless  the  bill  specified 
two  points  to  be  voted  on  by  the  people — and  those  Nicollet  Island  and 
St.  Peter. 

There  is  a  wonderful  amount  of  circumlocution  in  these  reso- 
lutions because  the  real  point  at  issue  was  not  the  introduction 
of  the  bill  locating  the  capital  on  Nicollet  Island,  but  the  simple 
striking  out  of  the  name  ^'St.  Peter"  in  the  bill,  which  had  already 
passed  the  council  and  was  sure  to  pass  the  house,  and  inserting 
in  lieu  of  St.  Peter  the  words  "Nicollet  Island."  That  would 
have  settled  the  whole  matter,  and  the  votes  of  the  Minneapolis 
members  of  the  legislature  could  have  carried  it  if  they  had  not 
feared  there  was  some  trick  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul. 

Major  Hotchkiss,  in  another  issue  of  his  paper,  said : 

It  is  well  known  to  every  man  in  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis  that 
there  never  has  been  a  measure  brought  before  the  legislature  of  this 
territory  for  the  benefit  of  those  towns  that  St.  Paul  did  not  oppose  with 
all  her  ability. 

It  is  beyond  all  question  that  Mr.  Murray's  proposed  amend- 
ment was  not  offered  from  any  love  for  St.  Anthony  or  Minne- 
apolis, but  solely  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  St.  Peter 
crowd.     It  was  oflfered  in  good  faith,  and  it  was  one  of  those 


44  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

opportunities  which  the  members  from  St.  Anthony  and  Min- 
neapoHs  did  not  have  breadth  of  vision  to  grasp.  Of  course,  all 
St.  Paul  is  especially  glad  that  the  MinneapoHs  members  were 
so  stupid,  and  by  the  same  token  all  Minneapolis,  when  they 
read  these  lines,  will  feel  especially  sad  that  they  were  so  stupid. 

In  noting  this  it  is  well  to  study  the  closeness  of  the  vote. 
St.  Peter  had  only  carried  the  bill  by  a  majority  of  one,  and, 
with  the  reversing  of  the  Minneapolis  votes  which  were  cast  for 
St.  Peter  and  adding  to  them  the  St.  Paul  votes  which  were 
ready  to  be  given  to  Nicollet  Island  in  a  burst  of  indignation,  the 
bill  could  have  been  passed  beyond  peradventure. 

The  Joe  Rolette  incident  had  not  been  thought  of  at  that 
time ;  in  fact,  that  was  a  mere  incident  beginning  as  a  joke  and 
only  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion  after  Joe  found  that  he 
was  the  hero  of  the  day. 

Time  has  softened  the  asperities  between  St.  Paul  and  Min- 
neapolis, and  the  new  $4,500,000  capitol  in  St.  Paul,  now  near- 
ing  completion,  has  in  the  main  received  support  from  the  Min- 
neapolis members  of  the  legislature,  though  there  has  been  occa- 
sional objection  to  some  of  the  increased  appropriations. 

I  have  quoted  from  the  indignation  meeting  and  from  the 
defense  meeting  as  well  to  demonstrate  the  claim  that  Minneapo- 
lis might  have  had  the  capital  but  for  the  indiscretion,  not  to  use 
a  severer  word,  of  her  own  members  of  the  Minnesota  legislature 
in  1857.  Having  no  desire  to  harrow  up  the  feehngs  of  my  Min- 
neapolis friends,  I  draw  the  veil,  leaving  them  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment on  Nicollet  Island  at  some  future  time  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion. 

Of  all  sad  words  of  tongue  or  pen, 

The  saddest  are  these,  //  might  have  been. 


OBSERVATION  SIX. 


Peculiarities  of  Early  Legislation. 


There  are  probably  many  peculiar  things  in  connection  with 
the  early  times  in  any  state,  and  certainly  Minnesota  proved  no 
exception  to  the  general  rule.  The  first  state  legislature  met 
between  five  and  six  months  before  the  state  was  admitted. 
When  the  latter  part  of  March  was  reached  the  legislature,  being 
weary  of  doing  business  on  an  uncertainty,  took  a  recess  from 
the  25th  of  March  to  the  2nd  of  June.  Here  were  sixty-eight 
days  apparently  gone  to  waste,  as  holding  office  was  one  of  the 
prominent  industries  of  the  embryo  state.  How  to  get  paid  for 
doing  nothing  during  the  recess  period  was  quite  a  problem,  but 
an  ingenious  solution  was  finally  discovered.  The  session  was 
resumed  in  June,  1858,  and  on  the  9th  of  August  Thomas  A. 
Thompson  of  Wabasha  county  offered  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  chief  clerk  is  hereby  instructed  to  draw  certificates 
for  stationery  in  favor  of  members  that  wishes  to  take  the  same  for  $75. 
The  members  taking  the  certificates  shall  sign  and  receipt  in  full  to  the 
state  for  all  demands  they  may  have  for  pay  during  the  vacation  from 
the  25th  of  March  to  the  7th  of  June. 

Motions  were  made  to  reduce  the  amount  to  $30,  $25  and  $5, 
but  they  were  all  promptly  voted  down,  and  the  resolution  was 
passed  by  a  vote  of  38  to  25.  It  might  be  a  fair  presumption  to 
assume  that  some  of  the  25  were  opposed  to  the  resolution  on 
the  ground  of  its  ungrammatical  construction,  rather  than 
because  it  gave  $75  per  head  from  the  treasury.  By  the  terms 
of  the  resolution  it  will  be  noted  that  "such  members  that  wishes 
to  take  the  same"  had  the  privilege,  but  it  was  not  compulsory. 
The  state  records  only  disclose  two  members  who  did  not  come 

(45) 


46  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

under  the  head  "that  wishes."  These  were  E.  Bray  of  Carver 
and  Robert  C.  Masters  of  Dakota  county.  Mr.  Masters  turned 
his  certificate  back  with  a  caustic  endorsement  written  thereon. 
The  certificates  themselves  were  certainly  unique.  They  were 
printed  about  the  length  of  a  check,  occupying  a  piece  of  paper 
about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  letter  sheet.  To  show  the  unique 
manner  in  which  stationery  can  be  commuted  into  per  diem  by 
an  able  legislature,  I  quote  the  one  issued  to  Mr.  Masters,  as  fol- 
lows : 


$75.00  State  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  Aug.  9,  1858. 
This  is  to  certify  that  Mr.  R.  C.  Masters,  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  is  entitled  to  the  sum  of  $75.00 
for  stationery,  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  passed  the  house  of 
representatives  Aug.  9,  1858. 

(Signed)    A.  T.  CHAMBLIN, 
Chief  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


Notwithstanding  this  was  an  order  for  stationery,  the  receipt 
for  which  was  drawn  upon  the  same  piece  of  paper  was  salary.  It 
read  as  follows: 


$75-00  State  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  Aug.  9,  1858. 
Received  of  the  treasurer  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  $75.00,  being  in 
full  of  all  demands  as  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
State  of  Minnesota  during  the  recess  of  the  first  legislature  of  the  State 
of  Minnesota,  commencing  March  25,  1858,  and  ending  June  2,  1858. 

(Signed)    ROBERT  C.  MASTERS. 

Mr.  Masters  signed  the  receipt  just  as  quoted,  and  not  only 
declined  to  accept  the  money  but  left  the  document  in  the  archives 
of  the  state  with  this  endorsement  upon  its  back: 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  I  have  protested  by  my  votes  in  March, 
June,  July  and  August  against  the  issue  of  any  certificates  for  per  diem 
of  members  of  the  legislature  from  the  25th  of  March  to  the  2nd  day  of 
June,  1858,  and  that  I  do  hereby  relinquish  to  the  state  all  claim  which 
I  may  appear  to  possess  on  the  treasury  for  the  sum  of  $75  by  virtue  of 
the  within  certificate.    The  auditor  or  treasurer  is  hereby  requested  to 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  47 

file  this  certificate  with  my  final  and  everlasting  protest  against  this 
high-handed  mode  of  public  plundering  the  state  treasury  of  Minne- 
sota. ROBERT  C.  MASTERS. 


Dated  Aug.  13,  1858. 

Signed  in  the  presence  of 

William  F.  Wheeler. 


Mr.  Masters'  request  was  duly  granted,  and  his  "everlasting 
protest"  is  still  on  file  at  the  state  auditor's  office,  where  it  can 
be  seen  by  those  who  are  curious  enough  to  wish  to  inspect  the 
handwriting  of  an  "honest  man." 

Mr.  Bray  was  not  so  emphatic  in  his  endorsement.  He  did 
not,  like  Mr.  Masters,  sign  and  return  the  receipt,  but  simply 
filed  the  certificate  issued  by  the  chief  clerk  and  wrote  this  upon 
the  back: 

I  herewith  relinquish  my  claim  and  interest  to  the  within  certificate 
and  donate  the  same  to  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

E.   BRAY, 
Carver,  Aug.  14,  1858. 

If  any  other  members  declined  to  accept  the  stationery  dodge 
as  a  dishonest  deal  there  is  no  record  to  be  found,  and  I  accord- 
ingly embalm  Messrs.  Masters  and  Bray  in  history  as  the  most 
remarkable  men  in  Minnesota  during  the  remarkable  era  of  1857 
and  1858. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  scheme  of  making  a  raid  on  the  treas- 
ury and  calling  it  stationery  may  become  a  pointer  to  future 
legislatures,  but  if  it  should  I  think  there  has  been  sufficient 
advancement  in  business  methods  for  them  to  refuse  to  print 
upon  the  same  sheet  of  paper  the  modus  operandi  of  the  pro- 
cedure. It  is  bad  enough  to  do  that,  but  when  in  addition  a 
man  was  asked  to  sign  his  name  to  the  grab  it  became  still 
worse.  It  was  a  cleaner  give  away  than  Oakes-Ames  Credit 
Mobilier  memorandum  book.  But  those  were  early  days,  and 
there  has  been  great  advancement  in  legislative  methods  since 
1858. 


OBSERVATION  SEVEN. 


Election  of  the  First  State  Governor. 


The  first  election  for  governor  in  the  State  of  Minnesota  was 
largely  a  contest  over  election  returns  more  than  a  contest  for 
votes.  It  was  altogether  a  wild  and  woolly  affair.  It  occurred 
Oct.  13,  1857,  H.  H.  Sibley  of  Mendota  being  the  Democratic 
nominee  and  Alexander  Ramsey  of  St.  Paul  the  RepubUcan. 

The  state  was  only  partially  settled  and  absolutely  without 
telegraph  or  railroads,  so  that  it  required  weeks  to  determine  the 
result.  Without  a  great  deal  of  delay  a  sufficient  number  of 
returns  were  received  to  show  that  the  election  would  be  very 
close;  and,  pending  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  the  official  vote, 
the  Republican  and  Democratic  papers  indulged  in  claims  of  suc- 
cess for  their  respective  parties. 

It  was  a  good  deal  more  like  an  anti-election  canvass  than 
simply  a  controversy  as  to  the  count,  and  the  principle  that 
"there  is  no  use  lying  after  election"  was  completely  lost  sight 
of.  It  would  probably  be  the  truth  to  say  that  there  was  just 
as  much  irregularity  practiced  on  both  sides  as  circumstances 
would  permit.  The  matter  of  conscience  had  not  emigrated  as 
far  west  as  Minnesota  in  that  early  day. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  thirteen  days  after  the  election,  the 
Minnesotian,  published  in  St.  Paul,  a  Republican  organ,  figured 
up  the  returns  and  claimed  660  majority  for  Ramsey.  The  St. 
St.  Paul  Pioneer  and  Democrat  the  next  day  analyzed  the  claim 
of  the  Minnesotian,  pointing  out  several  errors,  and  made  this 
significant  paragraph  and  conclusion : 

Added  to  the  above,  Pembina  county  is  yet  to  be  heard  from. 
According  to  our  figures  Ramsey  is  not  as  yet  out  of  the  woods. 

(48) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  49 

The  Minnesotian  also  claimed  that  a  secret  caucus  of  the 
Democrats  was  held  in  St.  Paul  on  the  26th  of  October,  at  which 
it  was  decided  to  send  up  to  Joe  Rolette  at  Pembina  to  see  that 
the  returns  came  down  in  proper  shape  to  settle  the  election.  The 
Pioneer  and  Democrat  had  violently  denounced  this  charge  as  a 
falsehood,  the  very  mildest  expression  used  being  to  call  the 
editor  of  the  Minnesotian  a  "liar,"  and  consequently  the  gentle 
allusion  to  Pembina  county,  which  I  have  quoted,  carried  a  sting 
which  lashed  the  Minnesotian  into  a  violent  rage. 

When  the  constitutional  convention  concluded  its  work  on  the 
constitution  proper  it  made  an  addenda  which  was  termed  a 
schedule,  and  this  schedule  provided  that  the  governor  of  the 
territory,  Joseph  R.  Brown  and  Thomas  J.  Galbraith  should  be  a 
canvassing  board  to  canvass  the  votes  cast  at  the  October  elec- 
tion. Gov.  Samuel  Medary  and  Brown  were  both  Democrats, 
and  Galbraith  a  Republican. 

It  was  not  until  December  i8th  that  the  returns  were  received 
to  enable  the  official  canvass  to  proceed.  The  canvass  of  the 
counties  was  made  by  the  respective  registers  of  deeds,  and  the 
registers  had  in  some  cases  rejected  some  of  the  precinct  returns. 
Brown  was  exceedingly  shrewd  in  politics,  and  he  had  ascertained 
in  advance  that  the  returns  made  by  the  registers,  with  some  pre- 
cincts rejected,  were  more  favorable  to  Sibley  than  if  the  can- 
vassing board  should  open  the  question  and  go  behind  the  official 
canvass  made  in  the  various  counties.  Under  the  schedule  of 
the  constitution  the  powers  of  this  canvassing  board  were  sub- 
stantially unlimited,  and  they  could  have  opened  up  every  county 
return  in  the  state.  Brown,  accordingly,  set  a  deep  trap  for  Gal- 
braith, the  Republican  member  of  the  board,  by  offering  the  fol- 
lowing resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  votes  returned  from  the  several  counties  by  the 
proper  canvassing  officers,  together  with  the  returns  from  precincts,  of 
the  establishment  of  which  the  board  have  been  legally  informed,  shall 
form  the  basis  upon  which  the  election  of  state  officers  shall  be  declared 
by  the  board  of  canvassers. 

Brown  would  have  been  terribly  disappointed  if  Galbraith  had 
favored  this  resolution.  He  could  not,  of  course,  vote  against 
it  himself,  and  consequently  whatever  Governor   Medary  did. 


50  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Galbraith  could  have  carried  it  by  voting  with  Brown.  Instead 
of  that  he  fell  into  Brown's  trap  and  offered  the  following  as  a 
substitute : 

Resolved,  That  the  duly  canvassed  returns  from  the  several  counties 
be  adopted  as  the  basis  of  calculation  by  the  board  of  canvassers. 

This  tied  them  down  exactly  as  Brown  desired,  and  he  had 
induced  the  other  fellow  to  do  it.  Medary  and  Galbraith  voted 
for  the  substitute,  Medary  understanding  the  situation,  while 
Brown  suspended  his  internal  chuckling  long  enough  to  vote 
"NO." 

How  the  Minnesotian  did  rave  and  abuse  Brown  and  Medary 
the  next  day  when  the  canvass  developed  that,  under  Brown's 
resolution,  4,058  votes  would  have  been  counted,  which  were 
rejected  under  Galbraith's  resolution,  1,930  of  them  being  for 
Sibley  and  2,128  for  Ramsey. 

The  official  canvass,  as  officially  made,  showed  35,340  votes 
cast  in  the  entire  state,  a  smaller  number  than  Minneapolis  now 
polls.  Of  this  number  Sibley  was  given  17,790  and  Ramsey 
i7j550>  a-  majority  of  240  for  Sibley. 

While  Galbraith's  resolution  would  not  have  absolutely 
changed  the  result,  it  would  have  reduced  Sibley's  majority  to 
42.  The  Minnesotian  assumed  to  prove,  to  its  own  satisfaction, 
that  Ramsey  had  80  majority,  and  then  proceeded  to  claim  that 
his  real  majority  was  600. 

To  show  something  of  the  wildness  of  these  statements,  I 
note  that  prior  to  the  official  canvass  the  Minnesotian  alleged 
that  Cottonwood  and  Redwood  counties  had  given  over  100 
votes  for  Sibley  and  none  for  Ramsey,  while  in  the  former  there 
were  but  four  inhabitants  and  in  the  latter  but  three.  This  was 
cited  as  a  sample  of  intended  Democratic  frauds ;  but  in  the  forty- 
one  counties,  which  were  officially  canvassed,  neither  Cotton- 
wood nor  Redwood  was  reported  as  having  cast  a  single  vote. 

The  Pioneer  and  Democrat  had  also  been  just  as  busily  recit- 
ing Republican  frauds,  so  that  the  impartial  historian  is  fully 
justified  in  concluding  that  honors  were  easy.  It  is  worthy  of 
note,  however,  that  the  .Cass  and  Pembina  district,  where  Joe 
Rolette  reigned  supreme,  was  very  unanimous  for  Sibley,  giving 
him  in  Pembina  316  votes  and  in  Cass  228,  while  Ramsey  did 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  51 

not  receive  a  vote  in  either  county.  Those  were  the  only  coun- 
ties where  there  were  not  some  votes  for  Ramsey.  Sibley  received 
the  certificate  and  served  his  first  term  as  the  first  governor  of 
the  State  of  Minnesota. 

This  was  the  election  where  Indians  were  permitted  to  vote 
under  certain  restrictions.  One  section  of  the  election  law, 
passed  by  the  territorial  legislature  Nov.  i,  1849,  contained  this 
provision : 

That  all  persons  of  a  mixture  of  white  and  Indian  blood,  and  who 
shall  have  adopted  the  habits  and  customs  of  civilized  men,  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  by  the 
provisions  of  this  act. 

This  practically  conferred  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  all  the 
half-breeds  in  the  territory.  The  clause  as  to  what  should  be 
considered  the  habits  and  customs  of  civilized  men  was  liberally 
interpreted  by  the  judges  of  election.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that 
they  had  many  habits  of  civilized  men  which  possibly  would  not 
pass  muster  at  the  polls ;  but  by  common  consent  it  was  decided 
that  half-breeds  wearing  pantaloons  filled  the  requirement. 

A  tradition  has  come  down  to  later  generations  to  the  effect 
that  one  pair  of  pants  would  do  service  for  a  swarm  of  half-breeds. 
One  would  don  the  trousers  and  go  out  and  vote,  and,  soon 
coming  back,  passed  the  garment  over  to  the  next  man,  while 
he  resumed  his  breech  clout  and  blanket.  If  the  Australian  bal- 
lot had  been  invented  at  that  time  the  freedom  of  suffrage  would 
have  been  very  much  curtailed. 

Notwithstanding  the  liberality  of  the  territorial  law,  when 
Minnesota  became  a  state,  she  became  still  more  anxious  for 
voters.  The  territory  only  allowed  half-breeds  to  vote,  but  the 
state  was  so  liberal  that  it  extended  the  suffrage  to  full-blooded 
Indians.     Here  is  a  section  from  a  law  passed  in  1861 : 

Any  male  person  of  Indian  blood  over  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
who  shall  desire  to  become  a  citizen  of  this  state,  shall  appear  before 
a  district  court  of  the  state  in  regular  term  and  shall  establish  by  at  least 
two  witnesses,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  white  man,  that  he  is  possessed  of 
the  following  qualifications: 

First.     A  just  idea  of  the  nature  of  an  oath. 

Second.  A  fixed  residence  in  a  house  as  distinguished  from  a  tepee 
or  wigwam. 


52  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Third.  That  he  has  been,  for  at  least  two  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding his  application  to  said  court,  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  or  in  the  trades,  or  in  any  other  strictly  civilized  pursuit. 

Fourth.  That  he  has,  during  said  term  of  two  years,  assumed  the 
habits  and  worn  the  dress  of  civilization. 

Fifth.  That  he  is  a  man  of  correct  general  demeanor  and  possessed 
of  good  moral  character. 

The  clause  relative  to  witnesses  to  vouch  for  the  Indian  in 
court  reminds  one  of  the  story  of  the  interview  Brown  and  Jones, 
two  intimate  friends,  had  with  Smith.  They  met  Smith  on  the 
street,  and  the  following  dialogue  ensued: 

Brown:  "Mr.  Smith,  my  friend  Jones  would  like  to  make  a 
little  loan  of  you." 

Smith :     "That  will  be  all  right,  but  who  will  vouch  for  him  ?" 

Brown :     "Oh,  I  will  vouch  for  him." 

Smith :     "But  who  will  vouch  for  you  ?" 

Brown:     "Jones  will  vouch  for  me." 

The  prevaricator  who  invented  this  story  does  not  say 
whether  the  loan  was  made,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  under  the 
Minnesota  law  the  Indian  who  vouched  for  another  Indian  was 
accepted  as  a  satisfactory  guarantor. 

The  Indian  did  not  seem  to  have  much  gratitude  for  having 
citizenship  conferred  upon  him,  for  the  next  year  he  rose  up  in 
his  savage  atrocity  and  slaughtered  600  or  700  white  men,  women 
and  children  on  our  frontier.  Possibly  this  law  w^as  forgotten, 
for,  in  spite  of  the  massacre,  it  remained  on  our  statute  books 
until  the  revision  of  the  laws  in  1878.  Nevertheless,  we  recog- 
nize a  good  many  people  as  citizens  who  can  hardly  conform 
to  the  fifth  requirement  in  the  law  of  1861,  quoted  above.  But 
we  must  not  be  too  punctilious,  or  there  would  not  be  so  much 
fun  at  elections.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  half-breed 
law  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  unanimity  of  the  vote  for  Sib- 
ley in  Joe  Rolette's  district.  It  has  always  been  regarded  as  cer- 
tain that  the  first  governor  of  Minnesota  was  elected  by  the  vote 
of  the  half-breeds.  But  what  else  could  you  do?  We  had  to 
have  a  governor,  and  inhabitants  of  Scandinavian  countries  had 
not  then  moved  into  Minnesota.  Consequently,  somebody  had 
to  do  the  voting,  and  in  the  emergency  the  half-breed,  if  he  could 
borrow  a  pair  of  pants,  was  as  good  as  anybody  else. 


OBSERVATION  EIGHT. 


The  First  Delegate  to  Congress  from  Minnesota  Was  from 

Wisconsin. 


The  first  delegate  Minnesota  ever  had  in  Congress  was  from 
Wisconsin,  because  there  was  no  such  place  as  Minnesota.  This 
is  a  sufficient  jumble  to  be  worthy  of  a  place  in  a  book  of  puzzles. 
It  so  happened  that  what  is  now  Minnesota,  or  a  portion  of  it, 
was  once  Wisconsin,  just  as  Wisconsin  is  in  some  sense  an  off- 
shoot from  her  elder  sister  Michigan.  The  act  which  trans- 
formed Wisconsin  from  a  territory  to  a  state  in  1848  defined  the 
boundaries  of  the  state,  but  left  a  portion  of  what  had  been 
embraced  in  the  territory  an  orphan,  subject  to  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  a  cold,  cold  world. 

The  boundary  line  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  was  the  St. 
Croix  river,  while  Stillwater,  St.  Paul,  St.  Anthony  and  what- 
ever little  towns  there  were  in  this  region  had  been  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Wisconsin,  they  were  not  part  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 
It  was  difficult  to  tell  where  they  were  at.  There  were  no  laws 
or  courts  or  officers  unless  something  could  be  done  to  rehabili- 
tate the  apparently  friendless  strip  of  land.  The  people  then 
here  shrewdly  concluded  there  could  be  two  Wisconsins — one  a 
state,  the  other  a  territory.  As  usual,  the  governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Wisconsin,  Dodge,  had  been  elected  to  the  senate  from 
the  state,  and  his  territorial  secretary,  John  Catlin,  was  ex  officio 
master  of  ceremonies.  At  the  request  of  the  citizens  occupying 
the  orphaned  remnant  of  territory,  he  came  over  from  the  State 
of  Wisconsin  to  Stillwater  and  issued,  a  proclamation  declaring 
that  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  still  lived,  and  called  for  an  elec- 

(58) 


54  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

tion  of  a  delegate  to  Congress.  And  thus  the  double-headed 
Wisconsin  was  brought  into  existence  that  Minnesota,  the 
greater,  might  spring  from  her  loins.  The  handful  of  people 
then  in  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  very  wisely  selected  the  late 
Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley  as  a  delegate,  and  sent  him  to  Washington 
to  make  further  arrangements.  Of  course,  the  two  Wisconsins 
could  not  be  a  permanency,  and  Sibley,  accordingly,  devoted  his 
energies  to  forming  the  Territory  of  Minnesota.  In  this  effort 
he  was  greatly  aided  by  being  recognized  as  a  delegate  from  the 
Territory  of  Wisconsin,  something  quite  unusual,  which  gave 
him  the  right  to  be  heard  upon  the  floor  of  Congress. 

It  must  have  been  a  little  peculiar  when  the  speaker  was 
called  upon  to  recognize  the  "gentleman  from  Wisconsin,"  and 
it  was  almost  necessary  to  have  a  diagram  go  with  the  recogni- 
tion to  determine  whether  the  gentleman  was  from  the  State  or 
Territory  of  Wisconsin. 

Gen.  Zach.  Taylor  had  been  elected  president  by  the  Whigs 
in  1848,  and  was  due  to  take  his  seat  in  March,  1849,  while  Presi- 
dent Polk  was  concluding  the  Democratic  administration. 

When  an  administration  forms  a  territory  or  admits  a  state, 
the  politics  and  offices  connected  with  the  act  usually  prove  a 
determining  factor,  and  the  new  candidate  stands  by  the  adminis- 
tration which  gives  it  life.  The  senate  was  Democratic  and  the 
house  was  Whig;  so  that  here  was  a  small  population  seeking 
national  recognition  during  the  expiring  hours  of  a  Democratic 
administration,  to  be  succeeded  by  the  incoming  of  the  Whig, 
with  the  Congress  divided  against  itself.  If  it  came  into  exist- 
ence by  aid  of  the  Democrats  it  could  be  expected  to  be  Demo- 
cratic ;  and  if  delayed  until  the  Whigs  assumed  control  of  national 
affairs  it  would  be  expected  to  be  Whig.  It  was  a  case  of  aerial 
suspension,  typical  of  the  supposed  condition  of  Mahomet's  cof- 
fin. The  odd  feature  of  the  whole  affair  was  that  so  much  time 
had  been  consumed  in  passing  the  act  forming  the  Territory  of 
Minnesota  that  Polk's  term  was  just  expiring,  the  measure 
becoming  a  law  on  the  3d  of  March,  1849. 

Except  to  save  the  bill  from  defeat  in  the  quarrel,  it  made 
little  difference  whether  it  went  into  effect  on  March  3d  or  March 
loth,  for  President  Polk,  very  much  to  his  credit,  declined  to 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  55 

appoint  a  Democratic  governor  and  other  officers  for  the  new 
territory  the  last  day  of  his  term,  though  the  senate  would  have 
confirmed  them  as  it  was  in  political  accord  with  him.  There- 
fore Sibley,  an  ardent  Democrat  himself,  had  secured  the  forma- 
tion of  a  territory  with  Whig  officers,  a  situation  of  which  Presi- 
dent Taylor  of  course  availed  himself  by  appointing  Alexander 
Ramsey  governor,  with  the  usual  retinue  of  judges,  district  attor- 
ney, etc.,  all  Whigs.  On  June  i,  1849,  Governor  Ramsey  pro- 
ceeded to  proclaim  the  organization  of  Minnesota  territory,  and 
Acting  Governor  Catlin  of  Wisconsin's  pronunciamento  became 
a  thing  of  the  past.  It  had  done  its  perfect  work  as  an  emer- 
gency act,  and  proven  that  in  political  and  governmental  life, 
as  well  as  in  other  matters,  necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention. 


OBSERVATION  NINE. 


The  First  Election  of  Alexander  Ramsey  to  the  Senate  and 
the  Contest  with  Cyrus  Aldrich. 


The  late  Governor  Marshall  had  much  to  do  with  estab- 
Hshing  the  Ramsey  dynasty,  which  ruled  the  political  fortunes  of 
Minnesota  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  statehood.  Governor 
Ramsey  was  not  during  this  entire  period  in  the  foreground,  but 
the  dynasty  he  and  his  friends  had  established  was,  and  on  top  as 
well.  Governor  Marshall  was  one  of  his  firmest  friends,  and, 
with  Mr.  Wheelock  as  his  lieutenant,  can  practically  be  said  to 
have  made  the  dynasty.  In  i860  Governor  Marshall  established 
the  St.  Paul  Press,  and  thus  brought  together  and  wiped  out  a 
good  many  discordant  elements  in  the  party  and  established  one 
party  organ,  in  place  of  the  three  or  four  which  had,  for  years, 
been  clawing  at  each  other,  and  incidentally  at  the  party.  Mar- 
shall always  supported  Ramsey  in  his  Press,  and,  when  he  went 
to  the  war,  Mr.  Wheelock,  who  was  commissioner  of  statistics, 
by  appointment  of  Governor  Ramsey,  took  up  the  thread  with 
loyal  zeal.  At  that  time  a  party  paper  was  more  effective  than 
it  is  to-day,  and  whatever  might  have  been  in  store  for  Ramsey 
in  the  future,  I  thoroughly  believe  he  was  more  indebted  for  suc- 
cess at  that  time  to  the  support  of  the  Press,  then  owned  and  con- 
ducted by  Marshall,  than  any  one  agency.  It  was  that  campaign 
and  alliance  between  Ramsey  and  Marshall  which  founded  the 
Ramsey  dynasty,  a  dynasty  which  ruled  the  state  for  ten  years 
with  a  rod  of  iron.  The  state  was  small  in  population  and  poor  in 
resources,  and  the  governor  did  not  have  great  patronage  to  dis- 
tribute, but  a  United  States  senator,  in  war  times,  with  no  civil 
service  impediment,  was  a  very  masterful  person,  and  pretty  near 

(86) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.      ,  57 

"monarch  of  all  he  surveyed,"  within  the  boundary  lines  of  Min- 
nesota. 

There  was  a  very  formidable  element  in  the  Republican  party 
opposed  to  electing  Ramsey  to  the  senate,  so  formidable  that,  on 
the  3d  of  November,  1862,  just  two  months  before  the  meeting 
of  the  legislature,  a  daily  paper  was  started  in  St.  Paul  to  voice 
the  opposition.  The  paper  was  called  the  Union,  and  Frederick 
Driscoll,  who  had  been  publishing  a  weekly  paper  at  Belle  Plaine, 
became  publisher.  It  was  not  a  very  brilliant  move  to  start  a 
daily  paper  to  conduct  the  senatorial  fight  at  that  date,  as  it  was 
only  one  day  before  the  election  which  chose  the  legislature,  and 
whatever  the  Press  had  accompHshed  in  behalf  of  Ramsey  had 
largely  been  done  in  the  campaign  before  the  people.  But  mat- 
ters were  at  fever  heat,  and  Marshall's  steadfast  support  of  Ram- 
sey bore  fruit  in  the  starting  of  the  new  paper  to  supplant  him. 

The  anti-Ramsey  men  had  selected  Hon.  Cyrus  Aldrich  of 
MinneapoHs,  then  member  of  Congress,  as  their  candidate,  and, 
of  course,  he  was  violently  assailed  by  the  Press  and  the  Ramsey 
interest.  So  violent  did  this  become  that  Aldrich  brought  a  big 
libel  suit  against  the  Press,  which  was  finally  adjusted  by  a  very 
profuse  apology  and  explanation.  The  Press  could  afford  to 
apologize — after  election,  and  it  did. 

The  legislature  met  on  the  6th  of  January,  1863,  with  46 
Republicans  and  17  Democrats  on  joint  ballot.  In  those  days 
there  was  no  separate  voting  for  senators  by  the  respective 
houses,  but  the  legislature  plunged  into  the  election  in  joint  con- 
vention, "sight  unseen,''  save  as  the  caucus  might  have  devel- 
oped. There  have  been  stronger  contests,-  numerically,  in  later 
years,  but  none  have  exceeded  in  intensity  the  fight  between 
Ramsey  and  Aldrich.  There  was  then  a  commissioner  of  Indian 
affairs  at  St.  Paul,  to  whom  various  Indian  agents  were  tribu- 
tary; there  were  army  and  mail  contracts;  there  was  govern- 
ment pine  almost  ad  libitum,  and,  in  fact,  all  the  necessary 
adjuncts  to  make  a  United  States  senator  very  valuable  to  his 
friends.  I  do  not  assert  that  sordid  motives  actuated  the  sup- 
porters of  either  Ramsey  or  Aldrich,  but  mention,  as  part  of  the 
history  of  that,  date,  some  of  the  things  lying  around  loose  that  a 
senator  could  pick  up  and  hand  to  his  friends,  if  he  had  a  spark 
of  gratitude  and  reciprocity  in  his  nature. 


58  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  Republicans  held  their  first  caucus  on  the  evening  of 
January  12th,  and  the  six  days  during  which  the  legislature  had 
been  in  session  had  been  exceedingly  lively.  After  the  usual 
elocutionary  pyrotechnics,  the  candidates  got  their  start,  and 
the  first  ballot  stood:  Ramsey  19,  Aldrich  14,  Cooper  7,  scatter- 
ing 5.  The  next  ballot  Ramsey  gained  i,  coming  up  to  20,  and 
for  19  ballots  that  was  his  limit,  while  Aldrich's  14  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  for  the  same  length  of  time.  Then  the  Aldrich  men 
began  to  cast  about  for  a  stronger  man,  and  his  vote  began  to 
decline  in  favor  of  James  Smith,  Jr.,  of  St.  Paul.  The  balloting 
was  continued  until  nearly  midnight,  and,  on  the  24th  and  last 
ballot  for  that  night,  the  vote  stood:  Ramsey  23,  Smith  16, 
Aldrich  4,  scattering  3.  Then  there  was  an  adjournment  for 
jubilation  on  the  one  hand  and  the  drowning  of  grief  on  the 
other.  Marshall's  name  figured  in  the  "scattering,"  he  having 
I  vote  on  the  first  ballot,  and  then  ran  up  to  4  on  the  fifth  ballot, 
but  his  candidacy  was  never  seriously  considered,  as  he  was  such 
a  stalwart  supporter  of  Ramsey. 

The  next  night,  the  13th,  the  caucus  made  short  work.  The 
first  ballot  stood:  Ramsey  26,  James  Smith,  Jr.,  20,  and  Ramsey 
was  as  good  as  senator.  The  election  took  place  in  joint  session 
on  the  14th,  Ramsey  having  45  (one  Republican  being  sick)  and 
Judge  A.  G.  Chatfield  (Dem.)  17  votes. 

Following  the  announcement  of  the  vote  in  the  joint  conven- 
tion, what  now  seems  decidedly  amusing  occurred.  A  com- 
mittee of  three  was  named  to  wait  on  Governor  Ramsey  in  his 
office,  on  the  floor  below,  and  inform  him  of  his  election.  In 
the  more  modern  day  the  committee  would  have  produced  the 
senator-elect  bodily  before  the  joint  convention.  Instead  of 
that  Governor  Ramsey  made  his  acceptance  speech  to  the  com- 
mittee of  three.     The  Press,  next  morning,  said  in  its  report : 

To  the  committee  who  waited  upon  Gov.  Ramsey  to  inform  him  of 
his  election  he  made  a  neat  little  speech,  expressing  his  thanks  for  the 
honor  conferred  upon  him. 

And  then  the  committee  (it  being  before  the  era  of  phono- 
graphs) returned  to  the  joint  convention  and  repeated  what  it 
could  remember,  as  witness  the  following  report  in  the  same 
paper : 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  59 

Mr.  Sprague,  from  the  committee,  reported  that  they  had  waited 
on  Mr.  Ramsey  and  he  desired  the  committee  to  say  that  he  was  grate- 
ful for  the  honor  conferred,  and  would  endeavor  to  discharge  the  du- 
ties of  the  office  with  fidelity  and  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

The  joint  convention,  which  had  been  sitting,  sucking  its 
thumbs,  while  Governor  Ramsey  was  making  his  speech  at  the 
committee  of  three,  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  and  immediately 
adjourned.  They  had  evidently  remained  in  session,  not  expect- 
ing a  speech,  but  for  fear  Governor  Ramsey  might  decline,  and 
they  would  be  compelled  to  begin  over  again. 

But  he  didn't. 

Of  course,  Mr.  DriscolPs  new  paper,  "The  Union,"  was  over- 
whelmed with  gloom  when  Ramsey  was  elected.  The  Press  had 
the  state  printing,  then  worth  about  $20,000  per  annum.  It 
would  have  been  natural  to  suppose  that  it  would  be  easier  to 
win  the  printing  than  a  senatorship,  but  it  was  not.  The  fight 
had  shown  that  two  Republican  papers  were  a  party  nuisance. 
Mr.  Driscoll  was  accordingly  elected  state  printer,  with  the  delib- 
erate intention  of  forcing  the  Union  and  Press  to  consolidate. 
Each  paper  had  won  and  lost.  The  party  managers  immediately 
set  their  wits  to  work  to  bring  the  two  papers  together.  Gov- 
ernor Marshall  had  for  a  partner  in  the  Press  a  gentleman  named 
Newton  Bradley.  He  was  in  the  business  office,  and  in  no  sense 
a  politician. 

He  thought  he  was  hopelessly  ruined  when  the  Press  lost  the 
printing,  and  was  extremely  anxious  to  sell  his  half  interest. 

Mr.  Driscoll  was  equally  anxious  to  buy  if  he  could  raise  the 
necessary  money.  In  Bradley's  desire  to  get  out  from  under  the 
calamity,  he  was  willing  to  sell  for  $2,000.  Mr.  Wheelock,  how- 
ever, had  shown  much  dislike  to  Mr.  Driscoll,  and  with  a  great 
deal  of  emphasis  he  went  at  Mr.  Bradley  and  told  him  to  ask 
$4,000  for  his  half  interest.  At  this  time  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  Mr.  Wheelock  was  not  pecuniarily  interested  in  the 
Press,  though  he  was  its  editor,  Marshall  and  Bradley  being  the 
owners.  Wheelock  thought  $4,000  was  a  larger  sum  than  Dris- 
coll could  raise,  and,  while  he  did  not  want  to  be  an  absolute 
stumbling  block,  he  wanted  to  make  it  so  that  the  onus  of  the 


60  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

failure  of  the  consolidation  would  rest  upon  Driscoll  rather  than 
himself.  With  great  fear  and  trembling  Bradley  nerved  himself 
up  to  ask  Driscoll  what  then  seemed  the  stupendous  sum  of 
$4,000  for  a  half  interest  in  the  Press.  Driscoll  had  more  wheels 
and  resources  than  Wheelock  had  given  him  credit  for,  and 
when  he  laid  the  matter  before  his  friends,  they  promptly  sup- 
plied the  money,  and  the  result  was  that  the  Union  went  out  of 
existence,  and  Mr.  Driscoll  came  in  as  half  owner  of  the  Press. 
Albeit  the  personal  relations  between  himself  and  Mr.  Wheelock 
were  very  far  from  cordial,  and  for  many  months  they  rarely 
spoke  to  each  other.  Later  a  better  understanding  arose,  and 
Mr.  Wheelock  gradually  purchased  Governor  Marshall's  entire 
interest  in  the  Press.  Still,  the  consolidation  had  saved  the  party ; 
and  out  of  my  personal  regard  for  the  "grand  old  party"  at  that 
time,  as  I  was  employed  on  the  Union,  I  consolidated  too — and 
the  country  was  safe. 


OBSERVATION  TEN. 


The  Failure  of  Senator  Wilkinson  to  Secure  a  Re-election  in 
1865,  and  the  Election  of  D.  S.  Norton. 


Many  curious  things  have  happened  in  Minnesota  politics. 
I  think  no  other  state  ever  had  a  legislative  party  caucus  to  nomi- 
nate a  United  States  senator  with  two  senatorial  candidates, 
members  of  the  same  branch  of  the  legislature,  sitting  in  the 
caucus.  This  occurred  in  January,  1865,  when  Daniel  S.  Nor- 
ton of  Winona  and  Henry  A.  Swift  of  St.  Peter  were  both  mem- 
bers of  the  state  senate  and  both  candidates  for  the  United  States 
senate  in  the  Repubhcan  nominating  convention. 

Senator  Morton  S.  Wilkinson  of  Mankato  was  the  leading 
candidate,  he  being  the  sitting  senator,  while  Windom,  Swift 
and  Norton  made  the  field  against  him.  Like  everyone  who 
has  held  a  similar  position,  Senator  Wilkinson  had  given  ofifense 
in  the  distribution  of  patronage,  and  that  was  the  chief  secret 
of  the  opposition  to  him.  No  one  could  question  his  party 
loyalty  or  zeal.  He  ranked  with  Ben  Wade  of  Ohio  and  Charles 
Sumner  of  Massachusetts  in  his  extreme  anti-slavery  sentiments, 
and  expressed  his  views  with  the  vigor  of  Wade  rather  than  the 
polish  of  Sumner.  His  admiration  and  support  of  L(incoln  was 
unstinted,  and  he  was  one  of  the  few  senators  with  whom  Lin- 
coln was  wont  to  consult  before  adopting  some  radically  aggress- 
ive policy.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  conceal  his  desire  for  Mr.  Wil- 
kinson's re-election,  and  letters  showing  this  were  a  prominent 
feature  of  Wilkinson's  campaign.  In  those  days  the  senate  was 
not  as  liberal  in  furnishing  clerks  and  private  secretaries  for  the 
senators  as  at  present,  and  Mr.  Wilkinson  lacked  the  element 
of  a  successful  politician  as  a  correspondent  with  his  constitu- 
ency.    Letter    writing   to    him    was    drudgery,    and,    while    he 

(6D 


62  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

would  attend  to  important  letters,  hundreds  of  trivial  ones,  such 
as  every  senator  and  congressman  receive,  v^ent  unanswered. 
Thus,  between  failure  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  writing  letters, 
to  the  neglect  of  his  real  senatorial  duties,  and  his  disappointing 
fifty  men  for  every  appointment  he  made,  Wilkinson  went  down 
in  defeat,  notwithstanding  he  had  the  direct  request  from  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  for  his  re-election. 

The  legislative  caucus  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  United 
States  senate  was  called  to  meet  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  of 
January,  1865.  In  the  campaign  of  1864  a  good  many  Demo- 
crats had  refused  to  support  McClellan  on  the  "war  is  a  failure" 
plank,  and  hence  the  Republicans  were  very  tender  with  their 
partisanship.  The  call  was  headed  "Union  caucus,"  and  invited 
all  those  who  supported  "the  Baltimore  platform"  to  participate. 
This  platform  was  the  one  on  which  Lincoln  was  elected  for  his 
second  term,  and  was  used  as  a  smooth  way  of  recognizing  every 
one  as  a  Republican  who  voted  for  Lincoln.  There  were  forty- 
nine  who  attended  the  caucus,  among  them  being  State  Senators 
Swift  and  Norton.  Swift  was  a  merely  passive  candidate,  while 
Norton  was  active  and  aggressive. 

When  I  say  that  Swift  was  "in  the  hands  of  his  friends,"  I 
do  not  mean  in  the  common  acceptance  of  that  expression,  which 
is  nowadays  used  as  a  cover  for  an  active  candidacy.  Having 
literally  been  boys  together,  growing  up  in  the  same  town,  I 
can  testify  that  he  was  one  man  who  had  a  United  States  senator- 
ship  in  his  grasp,  but  declined  to  lift  his  hand  to  obtain  it.  His 
friends  insisted  on  his  being  a  candidate,  and  he  allowed  them 
to  use  his  name,  because  he  was  a  man  who  loved  his  friends 
and  felt  that  he  must  gratify  their  wishes.  When  Ramsey  was 
transferred  from  the  gubernatorial  office  to  the  senate  and  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  Donnelly  was  elected  to  Congress,  Henry  A. 
Swift  of  St.  Peter  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  and  presi- 
dent pro  tem.  The  extraordinary  circumstance  of  the  govern- 
or's and  lieutenant  governor's  positions  becoming  vacant  at 
the  same  time  brought  Swift  with  one  bound  from  the  state  sen- 
ate to  the  governorship  of  the  state.  He  made  a  most  acceptable 
executive,  and  could  have  had  unanimous  nomination  from  his 
party  for  governor  (which  was  equivalent  to  an  election),  but  he 
persistently  declined.     He  was  compelled  to  serve  for  eighteen 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  63 

months  before  a  successor  could  be  chosen,  and  he  repeatedly 
told  me  during  that  time  that  he  longed  for  the  quiet  and  com- 
fort of  his  St.  Peter  home  and  abominated  political  positions. 
No  more  domestic  man  ever  lived,  and,  though  St.  Peter  could 
only  be  reached  by  stage  from  St.  Paul,  was  without  telegraph 
and  other  modern  conveniences,  it  was  "home"  and  the  alpha 
and  omega  of  life  for  Governor  Swift.  In  spite  of  all  this,  he 
was  again  elected  to  the  state  senate  after  being  governor.  I 
walked  with  him  from  his  hotel  to  the  capitol  the  night  of  the 
caucus,  and,  as  we  parted,  he  said  with  much  earnestness:  "If 
I  come  out  of  the  caucus  defeated,  I  shall  be  perfectly  happy. 
My  friends  would  have  considered  it  unfair  to  them  if  I  refused 
the  use  of  my  name,  but  I  do  not  want  it."  It  was  conceded 
at  the  time  that  if  Governor  Swift  had  made  the  slightest  effort 
for  himself  he  would  have  been  an  easy  winner. 

The  caucus  which  followed  was  prolonged  and  exciting.  It 
was  held  with  closed  doors,  lasting  until  after  midnight,  a  nomi- 
nation being  reached  on  the  thirty-second  ballot.  With  49  pres- 
ent, 25  was  necessary  for  a  choice.  The  first  ballot  stood :  Wil- 
kinson 16,  Swift  II,  Windom  10,  Norton  12.  It  is  notable  that 
it  was  "Windom  10"  even  at  that  early  day.  The  second  ballot 
stood:  Wilkinson  19,  Swift  8,  Windom  12,  Norton  10.  Wilkin- 
son's friends  stood  very  loyal,  while  "the  field"  was  decidedly 
mixed  and  demoralized  on  everything  but  opposition  to  Wilkin- 
son. In  fact,  that  was  the  only  way  "the  field"  could  hold 
together.  The  opposition  to  Wilkinson  had  caucused  privately 
and  pledged  themselves  on  the  one  point,  not  to  vote  for  "Wilk." 
Then  each  one  could  take  his  chances  on  combining  "the  field," 
the  only  secure  thing  in  the  game  being  Wilkinson's  defeat.  For 
seven  ballots  he  had  20  votes,  seven  more  22^  and  still  seven 
more  23,  which  only  lacked  two  of  a  nomination.  It  is  not  often 
that  a  combination  will  hold  together  when  the  opponent  so 
nearly  reaches  success,  while  "the  field"  is  so  badly  divided ;  but 
this  was  one  of  the  times  when  all  political  rules  failed  and  the 
combination  won.  On  the  thirty-second  and  last  ballot  Wilkin- 
son still  had  21 — within  two  votes  of  the  highest  point  he  had 
reached. 

When  radicals  like  Senator  Ben  Wade  of  Ohio  and  Henry 
Winter  Davis  of  Maryland  had  hampered  and  worried  Lincoln 


64  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

because  he  did  not  move  rapidly  enough  in  aboHshing  slavery, 
Wilkinson  had  stood  by  Lincoln  and  was  frequently  summoned 
to  the  White  House  for  consultation.  Lincoln  was  very  anxious 
for  Wilkinson's  re-election,  and  wrote  a  personal  letter  urging 
Minnesota  to  return  him,  but  that  combination  would  not  have 
listened  to  a  request  from  God  Almighty  that  night.  And  this, 
too,  is  politics. 

The  ups  and  downs  of  Norton  were  most  remarkable,  and 
if  he  had  not  been  a  member  of  the  caucus  he  would  not  have 
kept  in  the  race  half  a  dozen  ballots.  He  had  just  three  positive 
friends  besides  himself.  One  of  these  was  Senator  Dan  Cameron 
of  Houston  county,  but  I  do  not  now  recall  the  other  two.  Nor- 
ton started  with  12  votes,  dropped  to  10  on  the  second  ballot 
and  went  down,  down  until  the  twenty-fourth  and  twenty-fifth 
ballots,  when  he  only  had  four  votes,  and  one  of  them  was  his 
own.  At  this  point  it  was  proposed  to  drop  Norton,  as  he  was 
the  lowest  on  the  list.  Norton  was  pale  and  haggard  with 
anxiety  and  excitement,  and  he  rushed  wildly  about,  declaring 
it  would  be  fatal  to  his  future  to  be  dropped  at  so  low  an  ebb, 
begging  them  to  raise  his  vote  a  little  as  a  personal  compliment, 
bringing  it  back  to  about  where  he  started,  and  then  he  would 
withdraw  himself.  This  appeal  brought  his  vote  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  ballot  up  to  seven,  and  then  Norton  and  Cameron  both 
urged  raising  it  a  little  higher  before  he  withdrew.  The  next 
ballot,  the  twenty-seventh,  he  jumped  to  11,  and,  as  Wilkinson 
could  not  break  "the  field"  in  his  own  favor,  Norton  was  as  good 
as  a  winner.  He  did  not  now  propose  to  withdraw.  *'The  field" 
knew  they  could  elect  as  soon  as  they  could  agree,  and  when  a 
man  gained  seven  votes  in  two  ballots,  even  under  the  expecta- 
tion that  he  would  withdraw,  it  looked  too  much  as  if  he  was 
the  coming  man  to  hold  him  down.  It  took  five  more  ballots 
to  give  it  to  Norton,  those  ballots  giving  him  14,  17,  19,  24,  27 — 
enough  to  nominate  and  two  to  spare.  On  that  last  ballot  the 
vote  in  detail  was:     Norton  2J,  Wilkinson  21,  Windom  i. 

During  all  this  time  Senator  Swift  sat  quietly  without  asking 
a  single  vote,  and  smiled  when  he  saw  the  desperation  with  which 
Norton  was  imploring  for  votes.  He  was  in  the  hands  of  his 
friends  literally  and  nothing  more.     He  began  with  11,  and  that 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  66 

was  his  highest  vote,  though  almost  for  the  asking  he  could  have 
run  his  vote  up  to  the  nominating  point. 

One  incident  in  that  caucus  showed  the  desperation  of  "the 
field.''  Hon.  H.  M.  Rice,  once  a  Democratic  senator  from  Min- 
nesota, had  come  out  for  Lincoln  and  against  McGlellan  in  the 
campaign  of  1864.  This  brought  him  within  the  pale  of  the 
"Union  caucus,"  though  he  never  professed  to  be  a  Republican. 
Hon.  John  Nicols  of  St.  Paul  and  subsequent  Gov.  John  S. 
Pillsbury  of  Minneapolis  were  members  of  that  caucus,  and  dur- 
ing the  evening  they  took  a  carriage  and  went  to  Mr.  Rice's  resi- 
dence and  urged  him  to  authorize  them  to  announce  that  he 
would  act  with  the  Republicans  in  the  future,  telling  him  he  could 
be  nominated  and  elected  to  the  senate,  but  he  declined.  In 
spite  of  this  on  the  twentieth  ballot  Rice's  name  was  sprung,  and 
he  was  given  12  votes.  For  the  next  five  ballots  he  had  13,  but 
that  fatal  number  ended  him,  and,  after  two  more  ballots,  his 
name  disappeared.  The  next  September  he  was  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  governor. 

The  senatorial  election,  in  joint  session  of  the  legislature, 
took  place  on  the  nth  of  January,  1865,  two  days  after  the  cau- 
cus. Norton's  vote  was  not  then  necessary  for  his  success,  and 
he  and  two  other  Republicans  being  absent,  he  received  46  votes 
to  12  for  Col.  James  George,  the  Democratic  nominee. 

There  is  also  a  history  in  connection  with  Norton's  election 
to  the  state  senate,  in  1863,  which  is  worthy  of  preservation. 

Norton  resided  at  Winona  and  was  a  candidate  before  the 
Republican  convention  for  state  senator.  Thomas  Simpson 
defeated  him  for  the  nomination  in  the  interest  of  Windom. 
Simpson  was  a  life-long  friend  of  Windom's  and  the  adminis- 
trator of  his  estate  after  his  death.  Norton  bolted  the  Repub- 
lican ticket  and  joined  with  the  Democrats  sufficiently  to  defeat 
Simpson  at  the  polls.  Mr.  Sinclair,  the  editor  of  the  Winona 
Republican,  ably  supported  Norton  in  his  bolt. 

At  that  time  the  St.  Paul  Press  was  recognized  as  the  lead- 
ing Republican  organ  of  the  state.  Governor  Marshall  was  still 
part  proprietor,  but  Mr.  Wheelock  was  editor  and  Mr.  DriscoU 
business  manager.     In  an  unguarded  moment'  both  Wheelock 


66  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

and  Driscoll  went  East  for  a  considerable  absence,  and  left  the 
entire  editorial  conduct  of  the  paper  in  my  charge.  As  a  cham- 
pion of  "straight  politics,"  I  made  the  Press  sharply  condemn 
Norton  and  cordially  support  Simpson.  This  led  to  a  contro- 
versy between  the  Press  and  the  Winona  Republican,  which 
grew  quite  bitter  and  personal,  Norton  as  well  being  scored  as  a 
bolter.  When  Mr.  Wheelock  returned  the  paper  was  too  far 
committed  to  change  front,  and  the  war  on  Norton  was  con- 
tinued until  the  polls  closed.  I  never  inquired  and  was  never 
told  whether  my  course  suited  the  proprietors  of  the  paper,  but 
always  congratulated  myself  that  they  were  absent  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  prevent  the  usual  explanation  that  "if  the  article 
had  met  the  eye  of  the  responsible  editor  it  would  not  have 
appeared."  There  had  been  too  many  articles  to  escape  in  that 
manner. 

The  success  of  Norton  at  the  polls  carried  great  consternation 
to  the  ranks  of  the  politicians.  It  was  an  endorsement  of  party 
treachery  which  boded  no  good.  The  Press  felt  especially  sore, 
as  his  election  was  a  direct  rebuke  to  the  able  arguments  for 
party  loyalty  which  I  had  the  honor  of  emblazoning  in  cold  print. 
It  was  really  the  first  kick  over  the  traces  since  the  Republican 
party  had  come  into  power  in  Minnesota. 

Mr.  Norton  was  an  avowed  candidate  for  the  United  States 
senate  from  the  start,  and,  though  a  bolter  from  the  party,  he 
could  not  be  shut  out  of  the  caucus  which  nominated  the  senator. 
It  was  called  as  a  "Union  caucus,"  the  word  Republican  being 
entirely  omitted,  and  invited  all  who  endorsed  the  Baltimore 
platform,  on  which  Lincoln  was  elected  the  second  time,  to  come 
in.  Of  course,  that  included  Norton.  The  Press,  by  its  antag- 
onism to  him,  was  in  a  dilemma.  It  would  be  almost  fatal  to 
allow  him  to  reach  the  United  States  senate,  so  far  as  the  pres- 
tige of  the  paper  was  concerned.  Personally,  Mr.  Wheelock 
favored  Governor  Swift  for  senator,  and  Mr.  Driscoll  favored 
Windom.  Wheelock  and  Driscoll  had  not  been  partners  a  great 
while,  and  were  not  sufficiently  well  acquainted  to  speak  to  each 
other  very  often,  but  they  seemed  to  recognize  their  divided  per- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  67 

sonality  at  this  crisis.  Consequently,  the  paper  did  not  directly 
support  any  one  for  the  United  States  senate,  but  continued  the 
opposition  to  Norton  which  had  been  so  auspiciously  inaugu- 
rated, as  I  have  described.  It  would  be  cruel  to  depict  the  woe 
which  prevailed  in  the  Press  office  when  Norton  actually  won  in 
the  legislature,  and  I  draw  the  veil.  The  Press  was  not  as  influ- 
ential as  it  thought  it  was. 

It  was  not  long  after  Andrew  Johnson  succeeded  to  the  presi- 
dency, upon  the  assassination  of  Lincoln,  before  he  began  to 
show  signs  of  breaking  with  his  party,  and  a  little  later  he  was  in 
full  revolt.  Here  Norton  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  his  oppor- 
tunity. Senator  Ramsey  and  the  members  of  the  house  from 
Minnesota  were  bitter  against  Johnson.  Johnson  was  noto- 
riously exchanging  patronage  for  support,  and,  to  Norton's 
vision,  his  becoming  a  supporter  of  the  president  would  enable 
him  to  dispense  all  the  patronage  of  Minnesota.  He  accordingly 
Andy  Johnsonized  as  a  full-fledged  Democrat.  This  took  a  great 
political  load  from  the  Press,  and  it  "considered  itself  endorsed" 
for  its  opposition  to  Norton. 

Johnson  placed  the  Minnesota  offices  at  Norton's  disposal, 
and  he  promptly  selected  Democrats  to  fill  them.  They  were 
duly  appointed,  but  the  senate  refused  to  confirm,  and  the  Repub- 
licans held  on.  Capt.  C.  W.  Nash  was  appointed  collector  of 
internal  revenue,  and  endeavored  to  capture  the  office  by  force. 
He  succeeded  in  obtaining  possession  of  the  room,  but  the 
Republican  collector  simply  moved  out  and  continued  business 
elsewhere.  Norton  could  not  get  a  single  friend  in  place.  Con- 
gress and  cabinet  were  against  Johnson,  and  by  legislation  and 
refusing  confirmation  tied  the  president's  hands.  This  was  the 
political  ruin  of  Dan  Norton  and  hastened  his  death  before  his 
term  expired.  The  seed  of  his  destruction  was  sown  by  the  bolt 
from  his  party  which  the  Press  condemned. 

In  1868  the  house  prepared  articles  of  impeachment  against 
President  Johnson,  and  in  May  of  that  year  the  senate  voted  on 
the  subject.  It  required  two-thirds  to  impeach,  and  the  effort 
failed.  Seven  Republicans — Fessenden  of  Maine,  Fowler  of 
Tennessee,  Grimes  of  Iowa,  Henderson  of  Missouri,  Trumbull 
of  Illinois,  Ross  of  Kansas  and  Van  Winkle  of  West  Virginia — 


68  H.  P.  HAIvUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

voted  against  impeachment  and  defeated  it.  The  papers  and 
poHtical  almanacs  pubHshed  the  names  of  the  RepubUcans  who 
voted  for  impeachment  in  Roman  letters  and  the  names  of  the 
Democrats  voting  "no"  in  italics,  while  the  famous  seven,  who 
were  accused  of  betraying  their  party  trust,  appeared  in  capitals. 
Mr.  Norton,  though  elected  by  a  legislature  overwhelmingly 
Republican,  was  not  regarded  as  a  traitor  to  his  party  in  his  vote 
against  impeachment.  He  had  long  since  gone  over  to  the 
Democrats,  and  his  name  simply  appeared  in  the  impeachment 
voting  list  in  italics.  While  anathemas  were  hurled  at  the  seven, 
even  the  Minnesota  Republican  papers  did  not  criticise  Norton 
then.  He  conveniently  died  and  appealed  to  a  higher  court  than 
Minnesota  politicians. 


OBSERVATION  ELEVEN. 


The  Republican   State  Convention  of    1865,  with   Marshall, 
Averill  and  C.  D.  GilfiUan  as  Candidates  for  Governor. 


The  Republican  state  convention  of  1865  was  one  worthy  of 
being  recorded,  though  not  as  exciting  as  many  which  have  fol- 
lowed it.  The  convention  was  held  in  Ingersoll  hall,  St.  Paul, 
Sept.  6,  1865,  and  was  composed  of  123  delegates.  Besides  Mar- 
shall the  candidates  were  C.  D.  Gilfillan  of  St.  Paul,  and  the  late 
Gen.  John  T.  Averill,  also  of  St.  Paul,  though  for  political  pur- 
poses credited  to  Lake  City,  where  he  formerly  resided.  Prac- 
tically, geography  did  not  cut  any  figure.  It  was  the  Ramsey 
wing  of  the  party  supporting  Marshall  against  the  field,  and  the 
division  of  the  anti-Ramsey  forces  between  Gilfillan  and  Averill 
proved  Marshall's  good  fortune.  It  was  a  stubborn  and  bitter 
contest,  the  convention  remaining  in  continuous  session  from  2 
p.  m.  until  midnight,  repeated  motions  for  adjournment  until 
the  next  day  or  for  a  recess  being  voted  down.  The  first  ballot 
stood :  Averill  44,  Marshall  40,  Gilfillan  39.  Sixty-two  was 
necessary  for  a  choice.  On  the  sixth  ballot  Marshall  ran  up  to 
53,  and  then  occurred  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  I  have 
ever  noticed  in  politics.  Marshall  steadily  lost,  and  on  the  15th 
and  1 6th  ballots  only  had  38  votes,  two  less  than  he  began  with. 
By  all  the  rules  of  poHtics  he  should  have  been  defeated  after 
such  a  steady  loss  for  10  ballots,  but  instead  he  recuperated,  and 
on  the  20th  ballot  he  received  52,  Averill  53,  and  the  rest  went 
for  Gilfillan.  On  the  22d  and  last  ballot  the  vote  was  Marshall 
63,  Averill  50  and  Gilfillan  2. 

H.  M.  Rice  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor,  and 
a  very  amusing  incident  of  the  campaign  was  a  joint  debate 
between  the  candidates.     Neither  one  was  in  any  sense  a  public 

(60) 


70  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

speaker  at  that  time,  though  Governor  Marshall  became  one 
later.  They  were  goaded  into  the  debate  by  their  friends,  and 
the  bantering  of  .the  Pioneer  and  the  Press  with  each  other. 
The  first  debate  was  held  at  Hastings,  and  there  was  the  usual 
argument  for  the  division  of  time,  each  candidate  having  two 
speeches.  The  program  would  have  required  about  three  hours 
to  execute,  but,  though  it  was  a  little  after  8  o'clock  when  the 
meeting  began,  the  exercises  entirely  concluded  by  9  o'clock. 
Both  were  very  courteous  gentlemen,  and  the  burden  of  each 
one's  speech  was  his  expression  of  regard  for  the  other  as  a  pio- 
neer settler  and  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  com- 
munity. When  Marshall  had  concluded,  every  one  present  felt 
like  voting  for  Mr.  Rice,  and  when  Rice  had  concluded  he  had 
stemmed  the  torrent  in  favor  of  himself  and  turned  it  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Marshall.  The  joint  debate  so  taxed  their  physical  sys- 
tems that  by  the  time  they  had  reached  Wabasha  both  candidates 
were  too  ill  to  continue,  and  did  not  sufficiently  recover  during 
the  campaign  to  resume  the  engagement  which  had  been  mapped 
out  for  the  entire  state. 

Along  in  1860-61  the  St.  Paul  newspapers  had  much  tribula- 
tion in  securing  news.  There  were  three  daily  morning  papers: 
the  Pioneer,  published  by  Earle  S.  Goodrich ;  the  Press  by  Gov- 
ernor Marshall,  and  the  Times  by  the  late  Major  Newson.  Mr. 
Goodrich  stole  a  march  on  his  "esteemed  contemporaries"  by 
making  an  exclusive  contract  with  the  single  telegraph  company 
for  the  transmission  of  the  press  report.  Minneapolis,  at  that 
time,  had  no  daily  paper,  but  St.  Anthony  (now  Minneapolis 
East)  had  two  or  three.  Governor  Marshall  arranged  with  the 
St.  Anthony  Express  to  get  their  telegrams,  and  about  i  a.  m. 
a  messenger  would  run  a  John  Gilpin  race  from  the  express 
office  in  St.  Anthony  to  the  Press  office  in  St.  Paul.  Governor 
Marshall  frequently  took  that  night  ride,  as  he  was  accustomed 
to  rapid  transit  on  horseback.  After  the  perpetration  of  a  great  sell 
on  the  other  papers  by  the  Pioneer,  printing  in  a  few  copies  some 
bogus  telegrams,  announcing  the  death  of  Queen  Victoria,  the 
assassination  of  the  president,  etc.,  the  matter  became  too  unbear- 
able. The  tradition  which  has  come  down  in  newspaper  circles 
is  that  Governor  Marshall,  putting  a  pistol  in  his  pocket,  one 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  71 

afternoon  called  upon  Mr.  Goodrich  in  his  office,  closed  the  door, 
and,  taking  a  seat,  politely  and  calmly,  in  a  moderate  tone  of 
voice,  informed  him  that  he  had  come  there  to  kill  him.  Proba- 
bly a  more  determined  man  never  lived  in  Minnesota  than  Gov- 
ernor Marshall,  and,  if  the  story  is  true,  he  evidently  had  a  busi- 
ness air  in  presenting  his  verbal  communication.  Tradition 
states  that  the  two  gentlemen  parted  the  best  of  friends,  and 
thereafter  both  the  Pioneer  and  the  Press  received  the  telegrams. 

While  I  do  not  vouch  for  this  story,  I  have  narrated  it  for 
another  purpose.  In  the  winter  of  '94  I  was  preparing  a  paper 
for  the  Editorial  Association,  on  "Early  Journalism  in  Minne- 
sota," and,  wishing  to  have  it  accurate,  I  called  upon  Governor 
Marshall  at  his  rooms  in  the  Historical  Society.  Knowing  that 
it  was  useless  to  expect  him  to  tell  the  story,  I  narrated  the  tra- 
dition as  I  had  heard  it,  and  asked  him  if  it  was  true.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  look  of  sorrow  on  his  kindly  face,  as  the  past 
was  seemingly  recalled,  when  he  said: 

"Oh,  Mr.  Hall,  don't  print  that.  It  would  convey  the  impres- 
sion that  I  intimidated  Mr.  Goodrich.  We  are  the  best  of  friends, 
and  I  had  a  very  comforting  letter  of  condolence  from  him 
recently.  We  arranged  our  newspaper  differences  very  pleas- 
antly, and  have  been  friends  ever  since." 

A  somewhat  stormy  political  and  varied  business  life,  clouded 
in  the  last  years  by  the  loss  of  wife  and  only  child,  ended  after  a 
protracted  illness,  far  from  the  scenes  of  its  triumphs,  reverses 
and  sorrows.  The  soul  of  business  honor,  a  gallant  and  gener- 
ous political  adversary,  time  had  long  since  softened  whatever 
asperities  had  existed,  and,  to  use  his  words  I  have  quoted,  he 
parted  with  his  personal  surviving  world  "the  best  of  friends." 
The  impress  of  his  sterling  worth  upon  the  State  of  Minnesota 
in  her  early  days  will  be  his  lasting  monument. 


OBSERVATION  TWELVE. 


Windom's  First  Election  to  the  Senate. 


It  is  not  likely  that  Minnesota  will  ever  again  see  as  harmo- 
nious a  senatorial  election  as  occurred  in  January,  1871.  In 
fact,  there  were  two  elections,  but  one  was  inconsequential  in 
point  of  service,  though  it  carried  the  regular  salary  with  it. 
Daniel  S.  Norton,  the  senator  elected  in  1865,  died  in  July,  1870. 
His  term  would  have  expired  the  following  March.  Governor 
Austin  appointed  ex-Gov.  William  Windom  of  Winona  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  but  this  appointment  only  lasted  until  the  legislature 
could  elect.  While  this  put  Windom  in  the  line  of  promotion, 
it  did  not  necessarily  leave  him  without  opposition.  The  legisla- 
ture which  was  elected  that  fall  had  in  the  senate  13  Repub- 
licans and  9  Democrats,  and  in  the  house  32  Republicans  and  15 
Democrats,  a  majority  on  joint  ballot  of  19.  This  made  the 
Republican  candidacy  for  the  senate  all  the  more  enticing,  but 
the  political  cards  seemed  to  have  been  played  in  Mr.  Windom's 
favor. 

The  legislature  met  on  the  26.  day  of  January,  1871,  but  under 
the  congressional  law  the  election  for  senator  could  not  take 
place  until  the  17th.  Windom's  friends  evidently  realized  that 
delays  were  dangerous,  and  a  Republican  caucus  was  accordingly 
called  for  the  evening  of  January  5th.  An  interesting  incident 
of  this  caucus  was  the  fact  that  W.  D.  Washburn  of  Minneapolis 
was  chairman  of  the  caucus  and  D.  M.  Sabin  of  Stillwater  one 
of  the  secretaries. 

(72) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  73 

In  later  years  both  of  these  gentlemen  reached  the  senate, 
Sabin  after  a  sharp  fight  with  Windom,  and  Washburn  after  a 
violent  controversy  with  Sabin.  The  caucus  was  less  animated 
than  usual.  It  was  decided  to  nominate  two  candidates,  one  to 
serve  until  the  4th  of  March,  1871,  and  the  other  to  serve  six 
years  from  the  4th  of  March,  1871.  The  nomination  was  first 
made  for  the  long  term,  with  39  of  the  45  Republicans  in  the 
legislature  present,  and  on  an  informal  ballot  Windom  received 
35  votes,  Thomas  Wilson  of  Winona  2,  Horace  Austin  of  St. 

Peter  i,  and i.     On  the  formal  ballot  Windom  had 

34,  Wilson  3,  Austin  i  and i.  The  long  term,  hav- 
ing thus  been  summarily  disposed  of,  the  caucus  proceeded 
to  nominate  a  candidate  to  hold  for  six  weeks,  and 
for  this  position  Judge  O.  P.  Stearns  of  Duluth  had 
2^  votes,  Gen.  James  H.  Baker  of  Mankato  9,  Wilson 
2  and  Windom  i.  The  selection  of  Stearns  for  so  short 
a  period,  however,  was  simply  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the 
honors  about  and  preventing  any  formal  opposition  to  Mr.  Win- 
dom receiving  the  full  term,  for,  as  a  legal  proposition,  he  could 
as  well  have  been  chosen  for  both.  With  the  single  exception 
of  the  first  nomination  of  Senator  C.  K.  Davis,  no  such  harmo- 
nious senatorial  caucus  has  even  been  held  in  the  state.  While 
the  acceptance  speeches  of  the  two  nominees  were  brief,  they 
occupied  more  time  than  all  the  rest  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
caucus.  During  the  twelve  days'  interval  between  the  caucus 
and  the  election  by  the  legislature,  there  were  mutterings  of 
trouble,  but  they  did  not  materialize  beyond  newspaper  talk. 
On  the  duly  appointed  day  when  the  senate  met,  the  thirteen 
Republicans  were  in  their  seats,  but  not  a  single  Democrat. 
The  Democrats  were  absent,  holding  a  caucus  to  determine  who 
should  receive  the  empty  honor  of  their  votes.  The  Republicans 
thought  that  such  a  little  matter  as  the  absence  of  all  of  the 
Democrats  was  of  no  importance,  and  immediately  after  the 
reading  of  the  journal  Hon.  John  S.  Pillsbury  arose,  and,  in  a 
graceful  speech,  nominated  Mr,  Windom  for  the  long  term. 
The  13  cast  their  votes  for  him,  and  Mr.  Pillsbury  again  arose 
and  nominated  Stearns  for  the  short  term,  with  the  same  result. 
The  vote  was  duly  recorded  in  the  journal,  and  the  senate  then 


74  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

proceeded  with  its  regular  order  of  business,  as  though  nothing 
had  happened.  A  Httle  later  the  door  opened,  and  Michael 
Doran,  George  L.  Becker,  L.  L.  Baxter,  J.  L.  McDonald,  Leon- 
.ard  B.  Hodge,  D.  L.  Buell,  C.  F.  Buck,  W.  T.  Bonniwell  and 
R.  J.  Chewning,  all  the  names  of  men  prominent  in  Democratic 
circles,  marched  in  and  took  their  seats.  Business  ran  along 
for  perhaps  half  an  hour,  the  Republicans  chuckling  over  the 
situation,  and  the  nine  Democrats  awaiting  the  action  of  the 
•dominant  party  in  calling  up  the  election.  Finally  the  joke 
leaked  out  that  the  thing  was  all  over ;  whereupon  L.  L.  Baxter 
arose  and  asked  to  have  the  privilege  of  recording  his  vote, 
stating  that  he  had  been  unavoidably  absent  when  the  election 
had  taken  place.  The  privilege  was  granted,  but  amid  much 
mirth,  and  he  voted  for  R.  A.  Jones  of  Rochester  for  the  long 
term  and  E.  M.  Wilson  of  Minneapolis  for  the  short  term.  Some 
Republican  then  magnanimously  proposed  that  all  the  Demo- 
crats be  allowed  to  vote,  and  the  remaining  eight  joined  Mr. 
Baxter;  but  the  original  record  still  stands  13  to  o  in  favor  of 
Windom.  In  the  face  of  this  who  dare  say  that  13  is  an  unlucky 
number? 

The  house  did  not  proceed  so  rapidly  with  its  work.  The 
Democrats  belonging  to  that  body  had  time  after  their  caucus 
adjourned  to  reach  there  before  the  vote  was  taken.  When  the 
'Order  of  business  was  reached  for  the  election  in  the  house.  Rep- 
resentative W.  D.  Washburn  nominated  Windom  for  the  long 
term,  and,  on  the  vote  being  taken,  it  stood  Windom  30,  Jones 
14,  Wilkinson  i.  Buck  and  Wilson  of  Winona  i  each.  One 
Democrat  had  declined  to  vote  for  Jones,  and  two  RepubUcans 
had  refused  to  vote  for  Windom,  but  this  did  not  change  the 
result. 

For  the  short  term  Stearns  received  31  votes  and  E.  M.  Wil- 
son of  MinneapoHs  13. 

The  next  day,  in  joint  session,  the  respective  journals  were 
read,  and  the  election  was  all  completed. 

The  next  morning  after  the  election  the  St.  Paul  Press 
.declared  that  Messrs.  Thomas  Wilson,  M.  S.  Wilkinson  and 
Ignatius  Donnelly  had  formed  a  combination  to  defeat  Windom, 
over  which  he  had  triumphed,  but  there  was  no  evidence  of  such 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  75 

a  combination;  and  I  can  testify  from  personal  knowledge  that 
it  was  only  a  figment  of  the  imagination.  Windom  had  the 
machinery  and  the  leaders  of  the  party  and  no  opposing  candi- 
date. What  more  could  have  been  desired?  He  was  nomi- 
nated in  the  senate  by  Pillsbury,  who  subsequently  served  the 
state  as  governor  for  six  years,  and  in  the  house  by  Washburn, 
who  subsequently  served  a  term  of  six  years  in  the  senate  him- 
self. He  was  supported  by  D.  M.  Sabin,  then  a  state  senator, 
who  later  became  United  States  senator  for  six  years.  He  was 
also  supported  by  John  L.  Merriam  of  St.  Paul,  who  was  speaker 
of  the  house. 

As  party  politics  go,  he  had  all  of  the  leaders  of  the  Republi- 
can party  at  that  time  in  his  favor,  and  an  act  of  Providence 
could  not  have  defeated  him  unless  God  had  interfered  early  in 
the  game 


OBSERVATION  THIRTEEN. 


The  Congressional  Campaign  of  1868,  when  Ignatius  Donnelly 
was  Defeated  for  Congress  by  the  Ramsey  Dynasty. 


The  beginning  of  the  evolution  of  Ignatius  Donnelly  from  a 
Republican  member  of  Congress  to  the  position  of  a  private  citi- 
zen, and  thence  to  the  leadership  of  the  People's  Party,  and  to  his 
death  a  disappointed  man,  might  be  said  to  date  from  Aug.  i, 
1868.  It  was  on  the  evening  of  that  date  that  a  most  remarka- 
ble political  meeting  was  held  in  Ingersoll  hall,  St.  Paul.  The 
late  Gen.  John  T.  Averill  presided,  and  Mr.  Donnelly  spoke  until 
nearly  midnight.  The  burden  of  his  speech  was  a  reply  to  some 
charges  made  against  him  by  E.  B.  Washburne  of  Illinois,  and 
repelling  assaults  of  the  St.  Paul  Press,  the  Republican  organ  of 
the  state,  and  thick  and  thin  supporter  of  Senator  Ramsey. 

Mr.  Donnelly  had  been  in  Congress  three  terms,  and  was  a 
candidate  for  the  fourth.  While  he  was  not  an  open  candidate 
for  the  senate,  against  Ramsey,  the  Ramseyites  feared  that  he 
would  be  in  the  way  if  elected  for  a  fourth  term  to  the  house. 
Hence,  the  Ramsey  men  decided  to  kill  him  off.  W.  D.  Wash- 
burn of  Minneapolis  was  one  of  a  distinguished  band  of  broth- 
ers, all  of  whom  had  been  members  of  Congress,  and  the  posi- 
tion seemed  to  be  due  him  by  right  of  inheritance.  The  Ramsey 
hostilities,  coupled  with  Mr.  Donnelly's  long  term,  made  it  look 
fairly  favorable  for  a  new  man.  Elihu  Washburne,  brother  of  W. 
D.,  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Illinois.  He  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  land  department  at  Washington  concerning  the  Taylors 
Falls  land  office,  in  which  he  bore  down  heavily  upon  Ignatius. 
After  that  letter,  which  Donnelly  interpreted  to  have  been  writ- 
ten by  Elihu  to  aid  his  Minneapolis  brother  in  reaching  Con- 

(76) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  77 

gress,  he  donned  his  war  paint.  The  result  was  Donnelly's 
famous  anti-Washburn  speech  in  Congress,  which  was  his  (Don- 
nelly's) undoing. 

Elihu  Washburne  prided  himself  upon  making  a  reputation 
as  "the  watch  dog  of  the  treasury."  It  was  a  period  when 
extravagances  ran  riot,  and  if  the  treasury  ever  needed  a  watch 
dog  that  was  the  time.  It  is  probably  to  Elihu's  credit  to  say 
that  he  was  the  most  cordially  hated  man  in  Congress.  He  had 
blocked  innumerable  schemes  which  different  members  had  set 
their  hearts  on  securing,  probably  many  times  being  right,  and 
doubtless  sometimes  wrong.  When,  therefore,  it  was  known 
that  Donnelly,  with  his  keen  wit  and  ready  tongue,  was  going 
to  devote  an  hour  in  Congress  to  flaying  Elihu  Washburne  alive, 
he  had  a  delighted,  applauding  and  enthusiastic  audience.  Don- 
nelly's time  limit  was  one  hour,  and  he  had  loaded  himself 
accordingly.  During  that  hour  all  went  well,  and  I  have  always 
felt  that  if  a  merciful  Providence  had  intervened  and  prevented 
his  speaking  longer,  his  political  future,  and  indeed  all  his  life 
would  have  been  different.  He  would  unquestionably  have 
reached  the  senate  during  his  early  manhood.  Circumstances 
and  antagonisms  often  change  the  entire  current  of  a  man's  life, 
and  they  did  in  Mr.  Donnelly's  case. 

When  Mr.  Donnelly's  hour  expired,  there  were  loud  plaudits, 
and  enthusiastic  cries  of  "go  on,"  "go  on."  His  time  was  unani- 
mously extended.  I  imagine  Elihu  Washburne  was  about  the 
only  man  in  Congress  who  did  not  enjoy  it,  and  perhaps  he  did. 
This  extension  gave  Donnelly  more  time  than  he  had  prepared 
for,  but  he  arose  to  the  occasion  and  let  himself  loose.  During 
that  portion  of  his  speech  some  expressions  were  uttered  which 
were  afterwards  severely  criticised,  and  one  particular  word  was 
especially  assailed  by  the  Eastern  papers  for  coarseness.  This 
word  was  capable  of  a  double  construction,  but,  of  course,  the 
public  gave  it  the  vile  interpretation.  The  result  was  a  reac- 
tion against  Donnelly,  which  aided  in  retiring  him  to  private  Hfe 
and  ultimately  to  a  minority. 

Mr.  Donnelly's  first  speech  in  Minnesota,  after  Congress 
adjourned,  was  at  the  Ingersoll  hall  meeting  I  have  named,  and 
to  say  that  it  was  bubbling  over  with  Western  enthusiasm  is 
putting    it   extremely    mild.     It   was    overwhelmingly    exciting 


78  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

and  wildly  hilarious  from  start  to  finish.  Donnelly's  excoriations 
of  the  Washburn  family,  and  especially  of  the  St.  Paul  Press, 
were  received  with  yells  and  whoops  of  delight.  Times  have 
changed,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  provide  conditions  for 
such  a  meeting  at  this  period  of  the  world.  Mr.  Wheelock  was 
apparently  the  only  friend  of  the  Press  present,  and  a  slight  inter- 
jection he  made,  intimating  that  Donnelly  lied,  added  interest 
to  the  occasion.  Resolutions  were  passed  not  only  endorsing 
Donnelly,  but  strongly  repudiating  and  denouncing  the  Press 
as  a  party  organ.     There  was  not  a  dissenting  vote. 

Following  this  warlike  beginning,  Donnelly^s  campaign  for 
a  renomination  to  Congreses  came  on.  The  district  was  some- 
thing enormous,  in  geographical  proportions,  as  is  shown  from 
the  fact  that  it  embraced  the  following  counties:  Anoka,  Ben- 
ton, Carver,  Cass,  Chisago,  Crow  Wing,  Dakota,  Douglas,  Good- 
hue, Hennepin,  Isanti,  Kannabec,  Kandiyohi,  Lake,  Lincoln, 
McLeod,  Meeker,  Mille  Lacs,  Morrison,  Pine,  Pope,  Ramsey, 
Stearns,  St.  Louis,  Sherburne,  Todd,  Wabasha,  Washington  and 
Wright. 

It  was  generally  accepted  that,  while  the  contest  on  the  sur- 
face was  for  the  house,  it  was  in  reality  a  contest  between  Don- 
nelly and  Ramsey  for  the  United  States  senate.  If  the  senatorial 
question  could  have  been  eliminated,  Donnelly  would  have  been 
returned  to  Congress  without  opposition,  as  he  was,  at  that  time, 
recognized  as  an  able  party  leader.  But  his  senatorial  aspirations 
were  regarded  as  the  unpardonable  sin  in  the  eyes  of  the  support- 
ers of  Ramsey.  The  young  men  of  the  party  very  largely  sup- 
ported Donnelly,  and  the  older  and  more  experienced  poHticians 
were  largely  on  the  Ramsey  side. 

The  state  was  new,  and  it  was  natural  that  young  men,  who 
had  come  West  to  begin  life  for  themselves,  should  be  in  the 
ascendant,  numerically.  The  result  was  that  the  young  men 
engaged  in  that  campaign  with  an  enthusiasm  and  fierceness  that 
could  never  be  repeated  by  them.  The  smallpox  removes  a  virus 
from  the  system  which  makes  a  recurrence  of  the  disease  impos- 
sible. Such  a  campaign  as  that  of  1868  had  a  similar  political 
eflfect  upon  the  youngsters,  and  never  again  has  blood  been  at 
such  fever  heat  in  Minnesota  as  in  1868.     It  would  be  absolutely 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  T9^ 

impossible  to  duplicate  the  experience.  It  was  a  literal  display 
of  the  old  maxim,  "Old  men  for  counsel,  young  men  for  war.'^ 
The  young  men  who  championed  Donnelly's  cause  had  the  num- 
bers and  the  enthusiasm,  but  the  older  men  who  supported  Ram- 
sey had  the  sagacity,  experience  and  discretion,  and  those  quali- 
ties more  than  made  up  for  the  lack  of  numbers. 

Ramsey  county  was  the  hotbed  for  both  factions,  though 
there  was  much  excitement  throughout  the  district,  and  particu- 
larly in  Minneapolis,  where  Daniel  and  Joel  Basset  and  the  late 
Dr.  Keith  were  prominent  Donnelly  supporters.  Whatever 
furore  existed  elsewhere  was  mild  in  comparison  with 
that  which  prevailed  in  St.  Paul,  where  Senator  Ram- 
sey and  Governor  Marshall,  who  was  his  active  supporter,, 
resided.  Here,  too,  were  the  respective  "organs."  The  St.  Paul 
Press  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  Ramsey,  and  the  St.  Paul  Dis- 
patch equally  ardent  for  Donnelly.  I  had  started  the  Dispatch 
in  February,  1868,  and,  while  it  was  launched  to  be  a  legitimate 
and  permanent  newspaper,  I  was  personally  strongly  in  favor  of 
Donnelly,  and  nothing  loth  to  have  that  faction  of  the  party 
advance  the  interests  of  the  paper  by  business  support. 

It  would  be  wearisome  to  trace  the  campaign  in  detail,  though 
it  was  mighty  interesting  at  the  time,  but  it  was  protracted  for 
months,  and  more  bitter  than  any  poHtical  contest  before  or  since 
in  the  state.  It  was  young,  impetuous  blood  against  cool,  calcu- 
lating cunning,  and,  as  usual,  the  latter  won.  The  beginning  of 
the  culmination  was  the  Ramsey  county  convention  to  select 
delegates  to  the  district  convention.  The  county  committee  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Ramsey  faction,  with  the  late  George  W. 
Moore,  collector  of  the  port,  as  chairman.  The  district  conven- 
tion had  been  called  for  September  3d,  and  the  Donnelly  men 
were  so  confident  of  success  that  they  were  anxious  for  an  early 
county  convention  for  its  effect  on  the  rest  of  the  district.  The 
county  committee  were  too  smart  to  allow  this  game  to  be 
played,  and  called  the  county  convention  for  August  29th,  only 
five  days  before  the  district  convention — too  late  for  the  result 
to  have  any  moral  effect  upon  the  other  portions  of  the  district. 
The  primary  meetings  to  select  delegates  to  the  county  conven- 
tion were  called  for  the  evening  of  August  27th. 


80  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  no  such  primaries  have  ever 
been  seen  in  St.  Paul  as  those  which  were  held  on  that  memorable 
evening.  There  was  excitement  all  over  the  city,  but  the  great- 
est existed  in  the  First  and  Second  wards.  In  the  First  ward 
the  late  Governor  Marshall  led  the  Ramsey  forces,  and  the  late  C. 
P.  Barnard  the  Donnelly  forces.  The  primary  was  held  in  a 
vacant  store  on  the  lower  floor  of  the  old  International  Hotel,  on 
the  corner  of  Seventh  and  Jackson  streets.  One  of  the  interest- 
ing episodes  was  the  giving  way  of  the  floor,  precipitating  a  good 
many  into  the  cellar.  Quite  a  number  discovered,  the  next  day, 
that  they  were  hurt,  but  not  a  man,  on  either  side,  flinched  that 
night.  As  soon  as  they  could  pick  themselves  out  of  the  cellar 
they  resumed  the  fight  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  Bar- 
nard went  down  with  the  crowd,  but  Marshall  escaped.  Barnard, 
himself,  did  not  know  for  24  hours  that  he  was  quite  seriously 
injured.  A  physical  contest  was  narrowly  averted,  and  the  Press 
said  next  day  that  no  respect  was  paid  the  governor  and  that  he 
was  grossly  insulted.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  was  eminently 
true.  There  was  no  standing  on  politeness  or  formalities  that 
night. 

My  own  station  was  at  the  Second  ward,  where  the  primaries 
were  held  on  the  second  floor  of  the  old  tumble-down  court 
house,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  court  house  and  city 
hall.  We  knew  that  there  would  be  a  double-headed  delegation 
to  the  county  convention,  and  sought  to  have  "regularity''  on  our 
side.  In  those  days  the  political  parties  used,  at  the  primaries, 
the  ballot  boxes  actually  in  service  on  election  day.  In  order  to 
be  "regular,"  the  Second  ward  box  was  obtained  from  the  Demo- 
cratic sheriflf,  who  was  the  custodian,  and  carried  to  the  Dispatch 
office  early  in  the  day.  Half  an  hour  before  the  primaries  were 
to  open  10  or  15  stalwart  supporters  of  Donnelly  gathered  at  the 
Dispatch  office,  and,  forming  a  hollow  square  about  the  bearer 
of  the  "palladium  of  our  liberties,"  which  was  myself,  escorted 
the  box  to  the  court  house  to  guard  against  its  being  seized  by 
the  opposition. 

The  county  committee  had  selected  the  judges  of  election 
for  every  primary,  and  in  every  case  gave  two  out  of  the  three 
to  the  Ramsey  faction;    or,  as  it  was  termed  at  the  time,  the 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  81 

Washburn  men,  as  he  was  the  candidate  for  the  nomination 
against  Donnelly.  Of  course,  the  Donnelly  men  rebelled,  and 
insisted  on  electing  the  judges  by  popular  vote  at  the  opening 
of  the  meeting.  The  committee  had  selected  for  the  Second  ward 
Capt.  Russell  Blakely  and  Theodore  Sander,  Washburn  men, 
and  Sherwood  Hough,  clerk  of  the  supreme  court,  a  Donnelly 
man,  for  judges.  The  Donnelly  men  proceeded  to  elect  the 
judges  viva  voce,  selecting  both  Hough  and  Sander,  omitting 
Blakely,  and  with  the  sacred  "regular"  ballot  box  opened 
the  "regular  poll"  in  the  center  of  the  room,  while  Cap- 
tain Blakely  and  Sander  went  to  one  side  of  the  room 
and  opened  a  poll  in  the  captain's  hat.  Sander  declined  to 
recognize  his  selection  by  the  Donnellyites.  The  Donnelly 
forces  formed  a  soHd  cordon  of  men  from  the  door  to  the  "regu- 
lar box,"  with  a  view  of  preventing  anyone  who  desired  to  reach 
Captain  Blakely's  hat  from  doing  so,  and  no  one  got  through 
that  line,  to  go  to  the  side  ballot  hat,  without  a  scrimmage.  Dr. 
W.  A.  Bentley,  now  a  prominent  physician  of  Bismarck,  N.  D., 
and  one  time  mayor  of  that  city,  and  myself  mounted  chairs  and 
relieved  each  other  in  yelling  to  the  incomers  that  the  "regular 
poll  is  in  the  center  of  the  room."  We  watched  our  opponents, 
and  whenever  Captain  Blakely,  or  any  of  his  associates,  who  were 
also  mounted  on  chairs,  opened  their  mouths  and  attempted  to 
invite  the  voters  to  come  over  to  the  hat,  their  voices  were 
instantly  drowned  by  our  yells,  the  entire  Donnelly  crowd  ably 
seconding  our  lung  efforts.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
not  one  of  their  announcements  was  heard  that  evening  by  any- 
one but  the  men  who  uttered  them,  and  I  doubt  whether  they 
caught  their  own  words  some  of  the  time. 

The  Pioneer  (then  a  Democratic  paper)  of  the  next  day  gave 
this  description  of  the  scene,  which  was  really  an  impartial 
account  from  political  opponents,  and  I  accordingly  quote  it, 
rather  than  further  describe  an  event  in  which  I  was  somewhat  of 
a  participant: 

[St.  Paul  Pioneer,  Aug.  28,  1868.] 

The  Donnelly  men  had  secured  the  regular  voting  box,  and  Capt. 
Blakely  was  accordingly  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  using  his  soft  white 
hat  to  receive  votes  in.     The  Donnellyites  were  at  the  desk  in  the  center 

6 


82  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

of  the  room  and  Capt.  Blakely  at  the  left  of  the  Donnelly  men.  In 
front  of  the  box  where  the  latter  were  voting,  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr.  Bent- 
ley  placed  themselves  on  benches,  and  during  the  entire  evening  made 
short  speeches  to  the  swaying,  excited  crowd  that  stood  before  them. 
Hugo  Petzhold,  seeing  his  friend  Blakely  in  a  tight  place,  hopped  up 
onto  a  seat  and  attempted  to  help  him.  The  first  note  of  his  melodious 
voice  had  scarcely  escaped  from  beneath  his  moustache  and  begun  to 
float  upon  the  balmy  air,  before  Hall's  lungs  returned  a  sound  that 
completely  swallowed  up  poor  Petzhold's  whistle.  The  song  sung  by 
Mr.  Hall  was,  "The  regular  organized  poll  is  in  the  center  of  the  room, 
come  up  here  and  vote.  Petzhold  stopped,  and,  as  soon  as  his  opponent 
ended,  he  commenced  again,  but  no  sooner  was  the  first  sound  heard 
than  the  same  song  was  repeated  by  Hall  in  thunder  tones.  So  this 
continued  throughout  the  whole  evening.  Every  time  Blakely's  crowd 
attempted  to  say  anything  they  were  sure  to  be  drowned  out.  Capt. 
Blakely  stood  on  a  chair,  occasionally  attempting  to  speak,  and  all  the 
time  rubbing  his  hands.  The  lights  burned  dim,  the  crowd  was  bois- 
terous, Blakely  and  Petzhold,  sad  and  mad,  the  Donnelly  men  voting 
like  devils,  and  the  corners  of  the  room  filled  with  jolly  Democrats. 
Blakely  and  Petzhold  again  and  again  attempted  to  say  something,  but, 
heavens  and  earth,  what  a  yell  went  up  from  the  Donnellyites.  The 
most  common  expression  heard  at  this  time  among  the  spectators  was 
"This  is  hell." 
As  near  as  I  can  remember,  after  a  lapse  of  over  30  years,  it  was  H — . 

It  was  the  well  conceived  plan  of  the  Ramsey- Washburn  men 
to  force  double  primaries  by  the  selection  of  judges  which  they 
knew  the  Donnellyites  would  not  accept,  and  the  scheme  worked. 
Each  of  the  five  wards  in  the  city  had  five  delegates,  four  of  the 
county  towns  two  each,  and  the  remaining  two  towns  one  each, 
making  the  whole  county  convention  number  35.  After  the  cau- 
cuses the  Donnelly  leaders  gathered  at  the  Dispatch  office  and 
before  midnight  we  had  reports  showing  that  every  ward  and 
every  town,  except  Mounds  View,  had  held  double  primaries. 
Mounds  View  had  just  one  delegate,  and  whichever  side  obtained 
that  would  have  one  majority  in  the  county  convention  and  coilld 
throw  the  other  side  out  entirely.  There  was  a  painful  silence 
from  Mounds  View.  A  carriage  and  driver  was  quickly  obtained, 
and  W.  L.  Wilson,  afterwards  Governor  Davis'  private  secretary, 
was  posted  ofif  for  a  night  ride.  He  returned  in  the  morning 
Avith  duly  executed  credentials  for  a  Donnelly  delegate,  and  the 
Donnelly  fcftces  were  happy.    The  same  morning  the  late  Gov- 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  83 

ernor  Marshall  went  out  to  Mounds  View  and  returned  with  duly- 
executed  credentials  for  a  Washburn  delegate.  Then  the  con- 
vention stood  35  to  35,  and  there  was  grief. 

I  think,  if  the  truth  was  known,  it  would  be  found  that  neither 
side  held  a  primary  at  Mounds  View,  and  it  was  only  a  question 
of  making  out  the  credentials  to  secure  the  delegates.  And  on 
this  turn  of  a  hair  the  political  life  or  death  of  a  good  many  peo- 
ple was  determined. 

Of  course,  under  these  circumstances  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  carry  the  war  into  the  county  and  district  convention.  The 
result  was  when  the  Republican  county  convention  met  in  St. 
Paul,  Aug.  29,  1868,  to  name  delegates  to  the  congressional  dis- 
trict convention,  there  were  two  of  them.  The  Donnelly  and  the 
Ramsey-Washburn  factions  each  appeared  with  35  delegates,  the 
full  number  to  which  the  convention  was  entitled.  It  was  not 
the  intention  of  either  side  to  harmonize,  simply  because  it  was 
an  impossibility.  With  the  seat  of  every  delegate  in  the  conven- 
tion contested,  who  was  there  left  to  decide  in  the  premises? 
The  convention  was  called  in  the  same  old  court  house  where  the 
Second  ward  caucus  was  held,  and  the  only  semblance  of  regu- 
larity contested  for  between  the  factions  was  to  meet  at  the  place 
specified  in  the  call.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  both  factions  present,  and,  as  each  had  a  full  hand, 
it  simply  resulted  in  two  conventions  meeting  at  the  same  time 
in  the  same  room. 

In  speaking  of  the  aflfair  the  next  day  the  St.  Paul  Press 
(Ramsey  organ)  said: 

"As  soon  as  the  door  of  the  court  house  was  unfastened  a 
mob  rushed  in  along  with  the  regularly  elected  delegates." 

That  statement  is  correct,  and  from  the  moment  the  crowd 
entered  until  the  retirement  of  the  Ramsey- Washburn  forces, 
bedlam  reigned.  It  would,  in  fact,  bear  a  stronger  expletive. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  attempt  to  preserve  order  on  the 
part  of  anyone,  but  both  sides  simply  yelled  to  the  extent  of  their 
ability.  The  Donnelly  forces  yelled  the  loudest,  because  there  were 
more  of  them  and  they  were  younger  men.  William  Branch 
was  selected  as  chairman  for  the  Donnelly  forces,  and  Dr.  David 
Day,  afterwards  postmaster,  filled  that  position  for  the  Ramsey- 


84  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Washburn  faction.  Branch  and  Day  sat  side  by  side  on  the 
judge's  bench,  and  just  below  them,  in  the  clerk's  desk,  sat  the 
respective  secretaries.  I  do  not  believe  a  single  motion  made 
that  day  was  heard  by  anyone.  The  yelling  was  simply  incessant. 
After  vain  attem.pts  to  make  motions,  to  be  put  by  the  opposing 
chairmen,  both  sides,  by  common  consent,  seemed  to  abandon 
the  effort.  But  the  yelling  went  right  along  just  the  same. 
Motions  were  put  in  writing  and  handed  to  the  chair,  and  if  they 
met  his  approval  he  leaned  over  his  desk  and  handed  them  to 
the  secretary  of  his  faction,  telling  him  to  record  them  as  carried. 
To  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  event,  the  floor  settled  about  three 
inches.  If  the  applause  and  excitement  had  been  expressed  by 
the  stamping  of  feet  instead  of  by  noisy  yells,  I  have  no  doubt 
the  floor  would  have  gone  down  with  the  crowd.  A  good  many 
spectators  were  too  much  alarmed  to  take  any  chances  and  left 
the  hall. 

When  the  secretaries  had  duly  recorded  their  work,  it  was 
found  that  the  Donnelly  men  had  selected  James  Smith,  Jr., 
Albert  Edgerton,  H.  J.  Brainerd,  T.  Metcalf,  C.  H.  Schurmeier 
and  W.  L.  Banning  as  their  delegates  to  the  district  convention. 
The  Ramsey-Washburn  crowd  came  up  smiling  with  Russell 
Blakely,  G.  A.  Nash,  J.  C.  Becht,  C.  K.  Davis,  David  Day  and 
F.  A.  Renz  as  their  delegates.  Perhaps,  owing  to  the  sinking 
of  the  floor,  and  perhaps  owing  to  physical  exhaustion,  the  Ram- 
sey crowd  retired  first.  The  Donnelly  forces  had  done  all  of  their 
business,  but,  with  the  coast  clear,  a  love-feast  ratification  meet- 
ing was  held,  and  some  violent  speeches  made.  It  was  evident 
from  the  result  in  Ramsey  county  that  there  was  to  be  no  peace 
at  the  district  convention. 

The  district  convention,  which  was  due  to  have  89  delegates, 
was  merely  another  struggle  to  get  two  nominees  for  Congress 
before  the  public  in  such  a  manner  that  each  could  claim  to  be 
the  "regular"  nominee.  The  convention  was  called  to  meet  in 
Ingersoll  hall,  St.  Paul,  on  Sept.  3,  1868.  The  chairman  of  the 
district  committee  was  an  ardent  Donnelly  man,  but  the  majority 
of  the  committee  were  anti-Donnelly.  The  day  before  the  con- 
vention the  committee  met  with  T.  M.  Metcalf,  chairman,  of  St. 
Paul,  A.  B.  Stickney  of  Stillwater  (now  president  of  the  Chicap^o 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  85 

Great  Western),  E.  W.  Cutter  of  Minneapolis,  and  F.  Foss, 
proxy  for  S.  J.  Willard,  present.  The  majority  of  the  committee 
elected  Mr.  Stickney  (a  Washburn  man)  secretary,  and  then  pre- 
pared to  issue  tickets  to  the  delegates  signed  by  the  chairman 
and  countersigned  by  the  secretary.  The  formal  plan  of  the 
anti-Donnelly  portion  of  the  committee  was  signed  by  all  the 
members  of  the  committee  present  except  Metcalf,  and  given  to 
the  public  thus: 

That  in  case  any  credentials  shall  be  presented  to  said  committee 
which  any  one  of  said  committee  shall  believe  to  be  fraudulent,  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  said  committee  before  issuing  tickets  to  such  delegates 
to  require  satisfactory  evidence  that  said  delegates  were  elected  by  a 
convention  held  in  pursuance  of  a  published  call,  and  that  no  person 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  floor  of  said  hall  on  said  day  prior  to  ii  a.  m., 
and  then  only  such  persons  as  shall  be  the  holders  of  tickets  signed  by 
both  the  chairman  and  secretar>'  of  the  committee. 

Another  paragraph  in  the  published  fulmination  provided  for 
placing  the  custody  of  the  hall  in  the  hands  of  the  chief  of  police, 
who  was  to  be  the  only  man  having  the  key,  and  he  was  to  keep 
the  hall  closed  until  ii  a.  m.,  and  aid  in  seeing  that  only  proper 
persons  entered. 

While  Metcalf,  the  Donnelly  chairman,  would  not  assent  to 
this  program,  and  it  was  printed  without  his  signature,  it  was 
sharp,  though  high-handed  tactics.  It  made  the  district  com- 
mittee absolutely  judges  of  who  were  legitimate  delegates  and 
brought  the  police  force  of  the  city  to  their  aid  in  an  ingenious 
manner.  The  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Stewart  was  mayor,  and  he  was  a 
Ramsey  man,  as  was  his  chief  of  police,  J.  P.  Mcllrath.  Of  course, 
there  was  nothing  for  the  rest  of  the  police  force  but  to  do  or  die. 
Chief  Mcllrath  was  cousin  of  Charles  Mcllrath,  the  then  state 
auditor,  who  was  in  the  Ramsey  circle,  and  this  made  another  tie 
that  bound. 

Chairman  Metcalf  issued  a  proclamation  all  by  himself  as  an 
antidote,  stating  that  he  would  issue  tickets,  signed  by  himself, 
to  all  claiming  to  be  delegates,  regardless  of  contests.  And  he 
did.  Then  the  anti-Donnelly  delegates,  contestants  and  all,  took 
their  tickets  with  MetcalPs  signature  to  Secretary  Stickney,  and 
he  signed  them  also,  but  the  Donnelly  delegates  would  not  ask 


86  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

for  the  secretary's  name.  Thus  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember dawned  with  all  of  the  groundwork  well  laid  by  the  anti- 
Donnelly  men,  to  win  by  strategy. 

The  Donnelly  forces  gathered  in  Armory  hall,  a  block  farther 
down  Third  street  than  Ingersoll  hall.  At  11  a.  m.  they  formed 
in  marching  Hne,  two  by  two,  and  with  W.  L.  Banning  and  Henry 
Acker  of  St.  Paul,  and  Gen.  William  Le  Due  of  Hastings,  at  their 
head,  marched  to  Ingersoll  hall.  The  street  in  front  of  the  hall 
was  literally  packed  with  an  excited  multitude,  the  Donnelly 
portion,  at  least,  wrought  up  to  the  pitch  of  a  physical  contest. 
George  W.  Moore  had  been  selected  by  the  anti-Donnelly  por- 
tion of  the  district  committee  to  inspect  the  tickets  of  the  dele- 
gates, with  instructions  to  admit  only  those  who  had  tickets 
signed  by  both  Metcalf  and  Stickney.  Moore  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  first  flight  of  stairs,  on  a  level  with  the  sidewalk.  The  hall 
was  up  two  flights.  In  a  room  at  the  top  of  the  first  flight  Chief 
Mcllrath  and  a  posse  of  police  were  ensconced  to  come  to  the 
rescue,  if  George  Moore  did  not  stop  the  crowd  at  the  foot  of 
the  stairway.  The  three  Donnelly  leaders  named  marched  up 
to  George  Moore  and  demanded  admittance,  shaking  their  tick- 
ets under  his  nose,  which  he  refused,  because  Secretary  Stickney 
had  not  signed  their  tickets.  Stickney  had  been  given  no  oppor- 
tunity to  sign  or  refuse  to  sign.  A  wordy  altercation  ensued, 
and  then  they  turned  and  marched  back  to  Armory  hall,  the  oth- 
ers following. 

That  was  a  fatal  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  Donnelly  forces. 
They  were  numerically  strong  enough  to  have  entered  the  hall, 
and  I  never  believed  the  police  would  have  fought.  At  all  events, 
I  know  the  Donnelly  forces  were  ready  to  test  the  question,  and 
were  armed  to  enforce  the  contest.  I  carried  a  self-cocking 
revolver  in  my  pocket,  and  believe  I  was  so  foolishly  excited  that 
I  would  have  used  it  if  a  Ramsey  man  had  struck  me.  I  was 
spoiling  to  be  hurt  that  day.  The  late  Gen.  John  T.  Averill 
passed  the  briareus  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  and  went  up  to  the  hall 
and  I  did  the  same.  I  found  Ossian  E.  Dodge,  a  Donnelly  man, 
at  the  top  of  the  first  flight  of  stairs,  and  we  joined  in  yelling  to 
Banning  and  his  crowd  to  "come  on,"  but  they  did  not  "come." 
The  police  were  right  at  our  elbows,  but  did  not  offer  to  molest 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  87 

or  rebuke  us,  and  did  not  interfere  with  General  AverilPs  going 
up  the  second  flight  into  the  sacred  hall.  General  Averill  was 
very  prominent  as  a  Donnelly  man,  and  had  no  ticket  whatever. 
I  learned  afterwards,  to  my  chagrin,  that  Mr.  Donnelly  and  a  few 
of  his  leading  friends  had  conferred  at  Armory  hall  and  decided 
that  it  would  be  unwise  to  go  farther  than  make  the  demand  for 
admittance.  They  designed  to  do  just  what  they  did  do,  "march 
up  the  hill  and  then  march  down  again."  If  they  had  fought 
their  way  into  the  hall,  as  they  could,  the  trend  of  politics  in  the 
state  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  would  have  been  different. 
The  chances  for  a  fight  and  the  political  opportunities  of  a  life- 
time vanished  together. 

A  DEMOCRAT  WINS. 

How  the  late  Eugene  M.  Wilson  of  Minneapolis,  a  Democrat, 
happened  to  be  sent  to  Congress  from  the  Third  Minnesota  dis- 
trict, in  1868,  when  the  district  was  overwhelmingly  Republican, 
is  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  politics  of  the  state.  I  have 
already  recounted  the  attempt  of  the  Donnelly  forces  to  enter 
IngersoU  hall,  in  St.  Paul,  where  the  district  convention  was 
called  to  meet,  and  their  failure  to  gain  admission.  The  Don- 
nellyites  after  that  discomfiture  retired  to  Armory  hall,  and  had 
a  most  harmonious  and  enthusiastic  convention.  Mr.  Donnelly 
was  nominated  by  acclamation,  and  the  national  Republican 
ticket  of  Grant  and  Colfax  was  endorsed  especially  strong,  in 
order  to  show  party  loyalty,  and  thus  make  amends  for  any 
irregularity  in  congressional  matters. 

There  was  the  same  effort  in  Armory  hall  convention  to 
prove  the  other  side  bolters  which  had  pervaded  the  preliminary 
primary  meetings  and  county  conventions.  To  accomplish  this 
end  the  Donnelly  convention  formulated  a  proposition  and  sent 
it  to  the  IngersoU  hall  congregation.  That  proposition  was  to 
have  both  conventions  adjourn  without  making  any  nominations, 
and  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October  hold  a  semi-election  through- 
out the  district  to  select  a  nominee.  Polls  were  to  be  opened 
as  upon  election  day,  but  the  voting  was  to  be  confined  to  the 
Republicans.  The  candidate  receiving  the  largest  number  of 
votes  was  to  be  accepted  by  both  factions  as  the  nominee,  and 


88  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

the  name  placed  upon  the  regular  ticket  at  the  November  elec- 
tion. This  was  a  primary  election  law  in  embryo.  There  was 
really  no  expectation  that  this  offer  would  be  accepted,  and  it 
was  merely  sparring  for  "regularity."  When  the  committee 
with  this  offer  reached  IngersoU  hall  the  convention  had  taken 
a  recess,  and  the  document  was  left  with  the  secretary.  In  the 
afternoon,  when  the  IngersoU  hall  convention  reassembled,  the 
proposition  from  the  Armory  hall  affair  was  promptly  refused, 
and  instead  resolutions  were  passed  inviting  the  Donnellyites  to 
come  to  IngersoU  hall  and  submit  their  claims  to  seats.  When 
the  committee  to  present  these  resolutions  reached  Armory  hall, 
between  3  and  4  p.  m.,  that  gathering  had  completed  its  work 
and  had  adjourned  sine  die.  This  ended  all  convention  nego- 
tiations, and  each  side  went  vigorously  to  work  to  prove  the 
other  bolters.  That  was  a  heinous  offense  in  those  days,  and 
both  factions  sought  to  escape  the  odium. 

The  anti-Donnelly  convention  at  IngersoU  hall  was  just  as 
determined  as  the  other  one,  but  their  proceedings  were  not 
nearly  as  cheerful.  The  counties  of  Benton,  Cai-ver,  Crow  Wing, 
Dakota,  Morrison,  St.  Louis,  W^abasha,  Washington  and  Wright 
were  unrepresented.  These  were  not  contested  counties  and  were 
entitled  to  seats,  but  they  were  for  Donnelly  and  would  not 
appear.  In  the  Donnelly  convention  McLeod,  Pope  and  Sher- 
burne were  the  only  counties  not  represented.  Truth  of  history, 
however,  compels  the  statement  that  the  Hennepin  delegation, 
12  in  number,  in  the  Donnelly  convention,  was  not  legitimate. 
Washburn  had  secured  the  Hennepin  delegation  without  oppo- 
sition, and  a  resolution  had  been  passed  instructing  the  delegates 
to  present  his  name  to  the  district  convention.  The  delegates 
were  J.  S.  Pillsbury,  Levi  Butler,  J.  H.  Thompson,  A.  R.  Hall, 
G.  F.  Townsend,  A.  Ortman,  E.  B.  Ames,  G.  M.  Stickney,  L. 
Fletcher,  C.  H.  Petit,  F.  R.  E.  Cornell  and  W.  A.  Stanchfield. 
The  Donnelly  delegation  might  be  termed  a  "private  snap,"  and 
this  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  split  in  the  district  conven- 
tion. This  is  what  the  anti-Donnelly  men  of  the  district  commit- 
tee meant  when,  in  their  pronunciamento,  they  announced  that 
before  issuing  tickets  of  admission  to  IngersoU  hall  they  must 
have  "satisfactory  evidence  that  said  delegates  were  elected  by  a 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  89 

convention  held  in  pursuance  of  a  published  call."  This  rule 
the  Donnelly  delegates  could  not  comply  with  so  far  as  Henne- 
pin county  was  concerned,  and  if  there  had  been  but  one  conven- 
tion the  Washburn  delegation,  I  have  named,  would  have  been 
very  properly  admitted  in  spite  of  any  contest.  The  supporters 
of  Donnelly  in  Minneapolis  claimed  foul  play,  but  they  let  Wash- 
burn, in  the  final  round-up,  take  the  delegation  without  a  pro- 
test, and  had  no  ground  on  which  to  rest  a  contest  at  the  con- 
vention on  September  3d. 

A  full  district  convention  would  have  been  89.  At  IngersoU 
hall  there  were  59  present  and  at  Armory  hall  62,  but  in  both 
conventions  there  were  some  who  were  not  legitimate,  and  the 
real,  honestly  elected  delegates  would  have  shown  still  more 
favorably  to  Donnelly.  W.  D.  Washburn  of  Minneapolis,  Gen. 
L.  F.  Hubbard  of  Red  Wing  and  Gen.  C.  C.  Andrews  of  St. 
Cloud  were  named  as  candidates.  The  first  ballot  stood:  Wash- 
burn 31,  Hubbard  15,  Andrews  13.  Washburn  would  have  been 
nominated  on  the  next  ballot,  but  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  see 
that  with  the  split  in  the  party  he  could  not  be  elected,  and  he 
accordingly  withdrew.  General  Hubbard  was  then  easily  chosen. 
He  made  a  short  acceptance  speech,  and  at  the  conclusion  the 
gallery  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  Donnelly,  while  the  con- 
vention cheered  for  Hubbard.  General  Hubbard  changed  his 
mind  early  in  the  canvass  and  positively  withdrew  his  name. 
Then  the  Donnellyites  took  heart  of  hope.  They  saw  victory 
in  the  air  and  fairly  hugged  themselves  with  joy,  only  to  have 
their  bright  anticipations  nipped  in  the  bud.  The  IngersoU  hall 
district  committee,  with  much  effort,  secured  the  consent  of  Gen- 
eral Andrews  to  accept  their  nomination,  fully  understanding 
he  would  be  defeated.  General  Andrews  showed  good  business 
judgment,  as  he  insisted  on  a  purse  of  $7,500  being  placed  in 
his  hands  for  campaign  expenses  before  he  would  make  the  race. 
Between  the  two  Republican  candidates  Eugene  Wilson  (Demo- 
crat) was  elected  by  2,241  plurality  over  Donnelly  and  4,908  over 
Andrews. 

This  defeat  and  what  grew  out  of  it,  resulted  in  Mr.  Don- 
nelly's permanent  retirement  from  the  Republican  party,  and  was 
the  making  of  General  Andrews^  political,  perhaps,  I  might  say, 


■^0  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

personal,  fortune.  E.  B.  Washburne  became  secretary  of  state 
under  Grant,  and  he  made  Andrews  minister  to  Sweden,  a 
$12,000  "and  outfit"  position.  Andrews  held  this  for  12  years, 
and  later  was  made  consul  at  Rio  Janeiro,  which  he  held  four 
years. 

The  result  at  the  polls  showed  that  the  "youngsters"  in  Ram- 
sey county  were  overwhelmingly  in  the  majority,  and  really  car- 
ried Ramsey  county  at  the  primaries,  but  were  outgeneraled  by 
the  "old  heads."  The  Republican  vote  in  Ramsey  county  was 
.400  for  Andrews  to  2,200  for  Donnelly. 

The  Democrats  gathered  the  harvest  by  electing  the  late 
Eugene  M.  Wilson  of  Minneapolis,  the  vote  standing:  Don- 
nelly 11,229,  Andrews  8,595,  Wilson  13,506.  In  St.  Paul  the 
supporters  of  Mr.  Donnelly  were  the  young,  active  Republicans, 
and  they  were  so  overwhelmingly  in  the  majority  that  they  could 
not  realize  that  people  "up  north"  in  Norseland  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  vote  for  Andrews.  The  favorite  bet  in  St.  Paul  was  that 
Donnelly  would  poll  two  votes  to  Andrews'  one  in  the  district. 
In  St.  Paul  it  was  nearly  four  to  one,  and  the  boys  were  influ- 
enced by  their  local  surroundings.  The  result  was  a  waiHng 
.and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Mr.  DriscoU  of  the  Press  was  sufficiently 
shrewd  to  do  up  the  Donnelly  crowd  sadly.  He  did  not  make 
any  personal  or  open  bets,  but  through  others,  notably  E.  G. 
Rogers,  now  clerk  of  the  courts  in  Ramsey  county,  he  accommo- 
dated the  boys  to  their  hearts'  content.  At  least  it  was  suffi- 
'cient  after  it  was  over.  But,  oh,  the  gall  and  wormwood  of  the 
Donnelly  crowd,  to  think  that  they  had  not  only  lost  their  money, 
but  that  it  had  gone  to  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  paper  which 
had  so  bitterly  opposed  them.  If,  perchance,  the  Donnelly  boys 
had  won,  it  would,  probably,  have  puzzled  Mr.  Driscoll  a  little 
to  catch  up  with  his  liabilities;  but,  as  it  was,  his  happiness 
was  as  extreme  as  was  the  gloom  of  his  victims. 


OBSERVATION  FOURTEEN. 


Wm.  Windom's  Beginning  in  Politics. 


William  Windom  certainly  had  a  charmed  political  life.  De- 
feats which  ordinarily  retire  men  from  politics  forever  only 
seemed  to  strengthen  him  for  the  future.  He  was  a  lawyer  at 
Winona  with  a  very  limited  practice  when,  in  1858,  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  Congress,  his  friends  giving  him  the  place  more  from 
desire  to  aid  him  in  starting  life  than  anything  else.  He  served 
five  terms  in  the  house,  retiring  in  1869.  As  if  to  make  room 
for  Mr.  Windom,  Daniel  S.  Norton  of  Winona,  who  had  been 
elected  to  the  senate  in  1865,  died  on  the  13th  of  July,  1870,  and, 
on  the  i6th  of  July,  Governor  Austin  appointed  Mr.  Windom 
to  fill  the  unexpired  term.  He  was  then  duly  elected  and 
re-elected  to  the  senate,  and,  while  serving  his  second  term  as 
senator,  resigned  to  enter  Garfield's  cabinet  as  secretary  of  the 
treasury.  When  Arthur  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  after  Gar- 
field's death  he  resigned  from  the  cabinet,  and  A.  J.  Edgerton, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  the  senate,  also 
resigned  to  go  on  the  bench,  and  Windom  was,  on  Oct.  26,  1881, 
appointed  to  fill  his  own  unexpired  term  in  the  senate.  When 
he  was  defeated  for  re-election  in  1883  no  one  expected  that  he 
would  ever  be  again  in  public  life.  When  the  first  rumors  were 
set  afloat  that  President-elect  Harrison  would  tender  Windom 
the  treasury  portfolio,  they  were  ridiculed  in  Minnesota.  But  it 
proved  to  be  correct,  and  he  died  in  office,  his  almost  tragic  end 
occurring  Jan.  29,  1900,  at  the  annual  banquet  of  the  New  York 
Board  of  Trade,  just  after  he  had  concluded  his  address. 

In  1863,  when  running  for  Congress,  Mr.  Windom  opened 
the  state  campaign  by  an  open-air  speech  on  Bridge  Square,  in 
St.  Paul.  I  reported  his  speech,  long  hand,  for  the  Press,  with 
which  I  was  then  connected.  After  the  meeting  he  came  to  the 
office  and  asked  to  see  the  report,  which  I  had  written  out  to  the 
extent  of  a  couple  of  columns.     Upon  seeing  it  he  begged  me  not 

(91) 


92  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

to  print  it.  He  said  he  had  but  one  speech  and  could  not  well 
prepare  another,  and  he  was  intending  to  deliver  this  one  all  over 
the  state.  The  report  was  very  far  from  being  verbatim,  but  he 
thought  it  would  take  the  edge  off  if  he  should  deliver  this  speech 
where  the  paper  was  read.  I  complied  with  his  request,  suppress- 
ing my  already  glowing  account  of  the  "immense  attendance," 
"great  enthusiasm,''  "brilliant  oratory''  of  the  speaker,  etc.,  mak- 
ing only  a  few  lines  of  what  really  was  said.  Before  he  died  Mr. 
Windom's  ability  was  greatly  developed,  and  he  left  an  enviable 
national  reputation. 

Mr.  Windom  was  not  the  only  politician  with  "one  speech" 
for  the  campaign.  Away  back  in  the  fifties  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
then  governor  of  Ohio,  and  subsequently  the  war  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  and  later  chief  justice,  had  a  "one-speech"  cam- 
paign. It  was  at  the  time  of  the  celebrated  Breslin-Gibson  defal- 
cation. Breslin  had  been  the  Democratic  state  treasurer,  and 
was  a  defaulter  to  the  extent  of  several  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  defalcation  was  not  known,  and,  as  Republican  pros- 
pects were  quite  bright,  Breslin  and  his  friends  managed  to  get 
his  (Breslin's)  brother-in-law,  Gibson,  nominated  for  state  treas- 
urer on  the  Republican  ticket.  Gibson  was  elected,  and  for  a 
time  covered  up  the  defalcation.  Like  all  such  matters,  there 
was  a  final  explosion,  and  the  Democrats  arraigned  the 
Republicans  for  the  offense  because  Gibson  was  in  office, 
though  he  had  not  received  the  money.  Chase  was  gov- 
ernor, and  his  campaign  speech  was  entirely  devoted  to  throw- 
ing the  responsibility  for  the  defalcation  upon  the  Democrats. 
He  delivered  it  first  at  Sandusky,  and  the  Cincinnati  Commer- 
cial sent  a  shorthand  reporter  there  and  printed  the  speech  ver- 
batim. Two  or  three  weeks  later  Chase  reached  my  town  and  I 
essayed  to  report  him.  I  had  the  Commercial  report  with  me, 
thinking  he  might  use  some  portion  of  the  same  speech.  To 
my  surprise,  he  delivered  the  identical  speech,  word  for  word, 
and  nothing  else.  I  sat  on  the  platform  with  the  Commercial 
in  my  hand  and  "held  copy"  while  he  spoke.  He  had  memorized 
it  perfectly,  and  I  did  not  have  to  prompt  or  correct  him  during 
the  entire  delivery.  He  told  me  afterwards  he  was  very  sorry  he 
had  been  reported,  as  his  speech  referred  to  local  issues,  and  he 
could  not  well  change  it. 


OBSERVATION  FIFTEEN. 


Donnelly's  Resurrection  as  a  Republican. 


One  of  the  anomalies  of  the  campaign  of  1869  in  Min- 
nesota was  the  bringing  out  of  Ignatius  Donnelly  as  a  Repub- 
lican candidate  for  governor  by  the  St.  Paul  Press.  The  Press 
had  been  a  prominent  factor  in  1868  in  forcing  a  split  in  thd  party, 
and,  by  securing  a  Republican  candidate  against  Donnelly,,  had 
elected  a  Democrat  to  Congress,  and  retired  Ignatius  to  private 
life.  Donnelly  had  brought  the  battle  to  its  logical  conclusion 
by  endeavoring  to  defeat  Ramsey  for  re-election  to  the  senate 
in  the  wi;nter  of  1869,  and  had  failed.  The  defeat  of  Donnelly 
for  the  house  was  secured  to  prevent  his  defeating  Ramsey  for 
the  senate.  The  Press  was  a  thick  and  thin  Ramsey  organ,  and 
during  both  the  congressional  and  senatorial  fight  had  excoriated 
Donnelly,  and  he,  in  turn,  had  on  the  stump  flayed  the  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Press  alive.  It  had  been  war  to  the  knife 
and  knife  to  the  hilt,  and  then  they  removed  the  hilt  so  that  the 
knife  could  go  farther  toward  the  vitals. 

The  Republican  state  convention  was  called  for  Sept.  9,  1869, 
and  the  public  were  edified  on  September  4th  by  an  elaborate 
editorial  in  the  Press,  urging  the  nomination  of  Donnelly  for 
governor.  In  view  of  what  had  previously  occurred  between 
Mr.  D.  and  that  party  organ,  the  following  extract  from  that  edi- 
torial will  be  found  of  amusing  interest: 

"Aside  from  Donnelly's  brilliant  personal  qualities,  and  the 
distinguished  claim  which  a  long  course  of  useful  public  service 
gives  him  to  honorable  recognition  by  the  state  convention,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  in  view  of  his  position  as  the  leader  of  a  power- 
ful wing  of  the  Republican  party  in  this  district,  whose  enthu- 
siastic wishes  were  so  disappointed  in  his  defeat,  his  nomination 
at  the  head  of  the  state  ticket,  with  the  cordial  concurrence  of 

(93) 


94  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

those  heretofore  opposed  to  him,  would  do  more  than  anything 
else  to  extinguish  the  factious  animosities  and  disaff ections  occa- 
sioned by  the  events  of  last  fall." 

I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  this  was  not  "good  politics" — 
if  the  scheme  had  worked.     But  it  didn't,  and  that's  different. 

The  convention  duly  assembled  September  9th,  and  Dana  E. 
King  of  Meeker  county  was  called  to  preside  over  its  destinies. 
There  had  not  been  the  usual  preliminary  scrimmages  for  offices. 
Judge  Horace  Austin,  of  the  Sixth  Judicial  district,  residing  at 
St.  Peter,  was  a  prominent  but  not  aggressive  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. John  McKusick  of  Stillwater  was  in  the  field,  and  at  the 
eleventh  hour  Donnelly  had  appeared.  After  the  usual  prelimi- 
naries the  candidates  were  very  tamely  named  by  the  orators. 
It  was,  in  fact,  a  convention  especially  conspicuous  for  its  dull- 
ness. It  only  took  one  ballot  to  settle  the  governorship,  the  vote 
standing  Austin  147,  Donnelly  64,  McKusick  17.  The  support 
of  the  Press,  under  the  circumstances,  was  too  magnanimous 
for  human  credulity.  The  delegates  concluded  to  take  no 
chances,  and  nominated  the  other  man. 

There  was  really  more  contest  for  the  lieutenant  governor 
than  for  governor.  A.  J.  Edgerton  of  Dodge  county,  Jared 
Benson  of  Anoka,  W.  H.  Yale  of  Winona,  W.  R.  Kinyon  of 
Steele  and  H.  L.  Gordon  of  Wright  being  the  candidates.  Yale, 
Benson  and  Gordon  were  the  only  candidates  polling  many  votes. 
The  first  ballot  stood  Yale  83,  Gordon  63  and  Benson  50.  The 
third  and  last  ballot  stood  Yale  139,  Gordon  57  and  Benson  29. 
Aside  from  Austin  and  Yale  the  rest  of  the  ticket  made  by  the 
convention  without  much  contest  was: 

Secretary  of  State — Hans  Mattson  of  Meeker  county. 

State  Auditor — Charles  Mcllrath  of  Nicollet. 

State  Treasurer — Emil  Munch  of  Pine. 

Attorney  General — F.  R.  E.  Cornell  of  Hennepin. 

Chief  Justice — C.  C.  Ripley  of  Fillmore. 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court — Sherwood  Hough  of  Ramsey. 

The  campaign  which  followed  was  as  dull  and  lifeless  as  the 
convention  itself.  The  next  morning  after  the  convention  the 
Press  expressed  regret  over  Donnelly's  defeat,  and  promised  to 
give  a  cordial  support  to  the  ticket,  but  it  did  not  do  so.    The 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  95^ 

result  was  the  ticket  received  the  smallest  majority  any  Repub- 
Hcan  state  ticket  has  had  in  the  history  of  the  state,  having  but 
183  majority  over  the  Democrats  and  Prohibition,  and  but  1,947 
plurality  over  the  Democratic  nominee. 

There  was  one  incident  of  the  convention  which  subsequently 
became  of  considerable  importance.  W.  D.  Washburn  of  Min- 
neapolis was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  platform,  and  when 
the  platform  was  reported  he  announced  that  two  members  of  the 
committee  desired  to  have  a  resolution  included,  but  were  over- 
ruled by  the  majority.  It  was  accordingly  agreed  that  the  reso- 
lution should  be  reported  separately.     It  was  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Republican  party  of  the  state  insist  that 
the  500,000  acres  of  land  granted  to  the  state  for  internal  improve- 
ments be  set  apart  for  the  liquidation  of  the  Minnesota  state 
railroad  bonds,  and  that  they  be  held  for  that  purpose  solely;, 
that  when  the  holders  of  said  bonds  shall  agree  to  take  these 
lands  and  fully  and  finally  surrender  all  the  bonds  to  the  state 
that  said  lands  be  made  over  to  said  holders  or  their  assigns  or 
trustees  as  they  may  elect. 

The  resolution,  after  some  debate,  was  voted  down  by  79  to 
47.  At  that  time  the  so-called  repudiated  Minnesota  state  bonds 
were  a  nightmare.  The  time  was  when  the  500,000  acres  of  land 
could  have  settled  the  whole  bill,  which  subsequently  was  adjusted 
by  an  expenditure  of  between  $4,000,000  and  $5,000,000. 

On  the  very  threshold  of  statehood  Minnesota  had  by  legis- 
lative and  popular  vote  decided  to  guarantee  an  issue  of  $5,000,- 
000  in  bonds  to  secure  railroad  development.  After  $2,275,000 
had  been  issued  and  floated  the  inevitable  crash  came,  and  the 
state  not  only  refused  to  issue  more,  but  declined  to  pay  those 
already  outstanding.  Mr.  Washburn's  resolution  was  a  propo- 
sition to  make  an  even  trade  of  the  lands  for  the  bonds,  and  after 
ranking  in  the  category  of  the  states  with  dishonest  credit  for 
over  25  years,  by  a  semi-legerdemain  enactment  we  gave  the 
lands  and  several  millions  in  money  besides. 

Moral — Sometimes  it  pays,  as  a  financial  investment,  to  be 
just  a  little  bit  honest.  In  noting  the  small  majority  secured  by 
General  Austin  it  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  the  only  person 
really  alarmed  was  Austin's  Democratic  opponent  who,  for  a. 
time,  feared  he  was  elected. 


96  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  late  George  L.  Otis,  at  that  time  one  of  the  prominent 
attorneys  of  the  state  and  a  resident  of  St.  Paul,  had  been  pre- 
vailed upon  to  take  the  Democratic  nomination  for  governor. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  only  a  matter  of  form  without  the  remotest 
chance  of  an  election.  Otherwise  Mr.  Otis  would  not  have 
accepted  the  nomination.  Mr.  Otis  had  just  two  aims  in  Ufe — the 
enjoyment  of  the  society  of  his  family,  and  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Public  Hfe  was  entirely  distasteful,  and,  though  he 
was  forced  to  mingle  some  in  public  affairs,  it  was  always  under 
protest. 

Horace  Austin  of  St.  Peter,  then  on  the  district  bench,  was 
the  Republican  nominee  for  governor.  The  party  at  that  time, 
and  for  several  years  after,  could  scarcely  be  called  the  Repub- 
lican party,  as  it  more  properly  should  be  termed  the  Ramsey 
and  anti-Ramsey  factions.  The  terms  I  name  for  the  elements 
of  the  party  simply  indicated  that  if  Senator  Ramsey's  friends 
won,  all  the  public  pickings  went  to  them,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  keep  up  a  serried  front  at  all  times.  If  an  occasional  break 
was  allowed  it  would  be  dangerous,  and  hence,  woe  to  the  anti- 
Ramsey  man  who  got  a  nomination.  The  Ramsey  men  were 
the  shrewdest  poHticians  in  the  state,  and  when  they  lost  in  a  con- 
vention they  generally  administered  a  lesson  to  the  successful 
nominee.  They  did  not  really  want  to  turn  the  state  over  to  the 
Democrats,  but  wished  to  sufficiently  frighten  the  recalcitrant 
candidate  to  bring  him  into  the  fold  as  a  repentant  sinner,  feel- 
ing that  he  must  rely  upon  their  gracious  favor  for  his  future 
political  life.  That  was  the  discipline  which  the  Ramseyites 
endeavored  to  administer  to  Horace  Austin  in  1869,  with  the 
view  of  forcing  him  into  the  Ramsey  camp. 

The  election  returns  came  in  very  slowly.  Only  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  state  could  be  reached  by  telegraph,  and  a  great  deal 
of  territory  was  dependent  upon  semi-weekly,  tri-weekly  and 
even  weekly  stage  coaches.  As  the  returns  first  came  in  from 
the  more  accessible  cities  and  towns,  Mr.  Otis'  election  seemed 
almost  certain.  The  first  real  interest  he  had  shown  in  the  cam- 
paign was  when  these  returns  were  being  received.  His  prac- 
tice was  worth  at  least  five  times  the  beggarly  salary  then  allowed 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  97 

the  governor,  and  this,  added  to  his  distaste  for  office,  caused 
his  alarm.  It  was,  perhaps,  ten  days  or  two  weeks  before  the 
result  was  absolutely  known,  and  Mr.  Otis  would  come  to  my 
office  every  day,  before  my  paper  was  issued,  hoping  to  obtain 
news  favorable  to  his  defeat.  I  never  saw  a  candidate  hoping 
for  success  have  more  anxiety  than  he  did  hoping  for  defeat. 

That  was  the  first  campaign  when  the  Prohibitionists  put  a 
state  ticket  in  the  field.  The  official  canvass  gave  Austin  27,348, 
Otis  25,401,  Cobb  (Prohibitionist)  1,764.  This  left  Austin  only 
183  majority,  and  his  plurality  over  Otis  was  but  1,947.  That 
was  an  exceedingly  small  margin  for  the  Republicans  in  those 
days. 

In  spite  of  the  intended  castigation  by  the  Ramseyites,  it  did 
not  conquer  Governor  Austin,  and  his  gubernatorial  career  of 
two  terms  was  in  the  anti-Ramsey  interest,  and  led  up  to  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  Ramsey  dynasty,  when  Senator  C.  K.  Davis 
came  into  his  kingdom. 

Horace  Austin  made  an  excellent  governor,  albeit  his  term 
from  1870  to  1874  was  less  eventful  than  many,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  incident,  but  that  one  exception  stamped  it  with  an 
importance  which  many  other  governors  of  the  state  have  not 
obtained  for  their  records.  The  state  had  half  a  million  acres  of 
land  which  had  been  given  by  the  general  government  for  inter- 
nal improvements.  There  was  considerable  controversy  as  to 
the  latitude  of  the  term  "internal  improvements,"  those  who 
desired  the  lands  being  very  liberal  in  their  construction.  Grow- 
ing out  of  this  liberality  of  thought  during  a  session  of  the  legis- 
lature in  1 87 1  a  combination  was  gotten  up  to  run  railroads  all 
about  the  state,  and  divide  up  the  lands  with  the  various  roads. 
More  attention  was  given  during  the  session  to  this  land  combine 
than  all  other  legislation  considered.  The  following  parceling 
out  of  the  lands  to  projected  roads  shows  the  ingenuity  and  the 
strength  the  scheme  had,  as  it  appealed  to  nearly  every  section 
of  the  state,  and  every  member  could  feel  that  he  was  getting  a 
slice  for  his  constituents. 


98  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

Lines  Proposed —  Acres. 

Dubuque  &  St.  Paul,  from  Austin  via  Mantorville 50,000 

Davenport  &  St.   Paul  railroad,  from  the  southern  line  of  the 

state  via  Fountain  and  Rochester  to  a  point  of  junction  with  the 

Dubuque  &  St.  Paul  at  Pine  Island 50,500 

To  a  common  track  of  these  two  roads  to  be  given  to  the  one 

reaching  Pine  Island  first 32,000 

Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis 65,000 

Minneapolis  &  Watertown 10,000 

Minnesota  &  Northwestern,  from  Mankato  via  New  Ulm  and  Big 

Stone  Lake   80,000 

Farmington  to  state  line .* 15,000 

Mankato  to  St.  Cloud 75,ooo 

From  St.  Cloud  up  Sauk  Valley 47,000 

Winona  to  La  Crescent 25,000 

Lake  Pepin  &  Omaha 50,000 

Total  500,000 

The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  senate  on  the  17th  of  Febru- 
ary and  passed  on  the  i8th  by  a  vote  of  12  to  8.  The  combina- 
tion was  not  quite  so  strong  in  the  house.  It  took  24  votes  to 
pass  a  bill  in  the  house  at  that  time,  and  on  most  of  the  prelimi- 
nary votes  the  forces  stood  24  to  23.  But  it  finally  got  through 
the  house  on  February  28th  by  26  to  21.  The  bill  had  been 
incubating  six  weeks  before  it  was  introduced,  and  the  combine 
was  ready  for  work  when  it  came  in. 

And  now  came  the  tug  of  war.  Would  or  would  not  Gov- 
ernor Austin  veto  the  measure  ?  was  the  great  problem.  Proba- 
bly as  great  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  him  to  sign  the 
bill  as  any  governor  of  the  state  has  ever  felt.  The  opponents, 
to  a  moderate  degree,  also  urged  a  veto,  but  it  was  the  friends 
of  the  bill  who  made  life  a  burden,  and  according  to  the  reports 
of  the  others  there  were  offers  to  furnish  substantial  reasons 
why  the  bill  should  be  signed.  Governor  Austin,  however,  was 
firm,  and  at  11  o'clock  on  March  3d,  the  last  night  of  the  session, 
he  sent  in  a  strong  veto  message.  One  of  the  reasons  he  gave 
for  the  veto  was  the  belief  that  the  passage  had  been  secured  by 
the  desire  of  members  to  obtain  other  legislation,  and  they  found 
it  necessary  to  come  into  the  land  combine  in  order  to  secure 
their  local  bills.     He  very  forcibly  showed  that  the  division  of  the 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  99 

lands  as  proposed  would  amount  to  nothing  for  anyone  in  secur- 
ing railroads,  in  this  forcible  paragraph : 

"Within  the  past  14  years  the  general  government  has  granted 
in  the  aid  of  railroads  in  the  state  (not  including  deficiencies 
not  to  be  realized)  15,500,000  acres  of  the  pubHc  domain  and  the 
state  about  1,700,000  acres,  making  a  total  of  17,200,000  acres, 
worth  at  least  $43,000,000,  but  held  by  the  companies  at  from 
$5  to  $10  per  acre,  and  there  has  been  given  by  our  people  as 
local  aid,  including  right  of  way,  bonds  issued  and  other  legal 
obligations  to  the  amount  in  the  aggregate  of  at  least  $3,000,000 
more,  and  within  these  14  years,  with  $46,000,000  of  subsidies, 
there  has  been  completed  about  1,000  miles  of  road.  This  bill 
contemplates  aiding  in  the  construction  of  an  established  length 
of  1,022  miles  of  road,  giving  an  average  of  488  acres  per  mile. 
The  lands  here  granted  lie  on  the  frontier,  and  are  less  valuable 
per  acre  than  the  grants  to  the  old  roads.  The  friends  of  the  bill 
estimate  this  grant  as  worth  $1,000,000.  Comment  is  unneces- 
sary." 

To  secure  the  necessary  votes  to  carry  the  measure,  the  man- 
agers had  been  compelled  to  make  too  liberal  a  division.  When 
the  veto  message  had  been  read  to  the  senate  there  was  the  usual 
motion  to  pass  it  over  the  governor's  veto,  and  it  was  lost  by  a 
vote  of  12  to  10,  two-thirds  being  necessary.  The  only  Repub- 
lican senators  who  voted  to  sustain  the  governor  were  Farmer, 
Petit,  Pillsbury  and  Sabin. 

I  think  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  no  matter  of  pure 
legislation  has  ever  created  so  much  interest  and  excitement  in 
the  state  as  that  proposition  to  divide  the  500,000  acres.  There 
have  been  others  which  brought  more  ducats  to  the  front,  for 
I  do  not  think  any  cold  cash  was  used  on  this  occasion.  There 
was  an  immense  amount  of  swapping  legislation.  I  had  learned 
that  the  veto  was  coming,  and  on  the  pledge  that  I  would  not 
use  it  prematurely,  had  obtained  an  advance  copy  of  the  mes- 
sage. I  put  it  in  type  and  printed  a  Dispatch  extra  containing 
it.  In  order  to  be  sure  that  no  mistake  occurred  by  circulating 
in  advance  of  the  governor,  after  the  extras  were  printed  I 
secured  about  25  newsboys  and  locked  up  the  whole  outfit  in  my 
pressroom,  ready  to  rush  to  the  capitol  the  moment  the  proper 


100  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

time  arrived.  The  telephone  had  not  arrived  at  that  time,  and 
a  mounted  messenger  was  kept  in  waiting  at  the  capitol,  while 
I  stood  guard  at  the  executive  office.  The  moment  the  messen- 
ger from  the  governor  started  to  carry  the  veto  to  the  senate, 
my  messenger  started  to  the  Dispatch  office,  and  by  the  time 
the  secretary  of  the  senate  was  ready  to  announce  the  message 
the  1 1  p.  m.  extra  of  the  Dispatch  was  on  sale  in  the  capitol.  The 
senators  obtained  them,  and  the  reading  of  the  secretary,  which 
was  slow,  was  merely  nominal,  as  all  over  the  senate  chamber  the 
senators  were  perusing  the  printed  extra  during  the  official  read- 
ing, and  one  senator  interrupted  the  reading  to  complain  that  the 
text,  as  read,  varied  in  some  verbal  manner  from  the  printed  copy. 
It  was  an  error  in  reading  made  by  the  secretary.  A  veto  is  only 
sent  to  the  branch  of  the  legislature  where  the  bill  originates, 
and  this,  being  a  senate  bill,  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  veto  was 
only  sent  to  that  branch.  The  message  created  so  much  interest 
that  while  the  original  copy  was  being  read  to  the  senate,  the 
clerk  of  the  house  read  it  to  the  representatives  from  a  Dispatch 
extra.  The  house,  in  fact,  began  debating  and  offering  josh 
resolutions  on  the  message  before  the  secretary  had  completed 
the  reading  in  the  senate.  Between  the  attraction  of  the  last  night 
of  the  session  and  the  excitement  over  the  land  bill,  there  were 
several  hundred  people  at  the  capitol,  and  the  night  extra  was 
as  eagerly  sought  by  the  crowd  as  if  the  fate  of  the  nation  hung 
upon  it.  It  was  the  only  time,  in  Minnesota  at  least,  where  a 
veto  message  has  been  simultaneously  read  in  both  branches  of 
the  legislature. 

One  thing  which  smoothed  Governor  Austin's  official  pathway 
was  his  excellent  choice  of  private  secretary  in  the  person  of  Hon. 
A.  R.  McGill.  Mr.  McGill  was  a  fellow  townsman  of  the  govern- 
or's and  the  editor  of  the  St.  Peter  Tribune  at  the  time  of  his 
appointment.  Newspaper  men,  as  a  rule,  can  guide  an  official 
correctly  and  meet  the  public  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Regu- 
lating things  and  assuming  to  know  everything  is  right  in  their 
line  of  business.  Mr.  McGill  was  so  good  an  exemplification  of 
this  that  he  graduated  from  private  secretary  to  insurance  com- 
missioner, and  13  years  after  he  had  retired  from  the  governor's 
office  as  a  subordinate  he  re-entered  as  the  chief  executive  of  the 
state. 


»  >  ,  »     J  y     ■> 


OBSERVATION  SIXTEEN. 


The  Second  Election  of  Alexander  Ramsey  to  the  Senate  with- 
out a  Vote  to  Spare. 


It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  great  political  fight  of  1868 
ended  the  contest  between  Donnelly  and  the  Ramsey  crowd.  It 
was  continued  for  years,  and,  like  the  Kentucky  feuds,  only  ended 
when  most  of  the  active  participants  were  securely  planted  under- 
ground. An  election  for  Ramsey's  successor  in  the  senate  was 
due  in  January,  1869,  only  two  months  after  the  disastrous  elec- 
tion of  1868,  and  the  Donnelly  forces  kept  their  armor  right  on 
and  duly  burnished.  Ramsey  was,  of  course,  a  candidate  to  suc- 
ceed himself.  Donnelly  had  been  accused  of  being  a  candidate 
for  the  senate  all  through  the  campaign,  and  after  his  defeat  for 
the  house  he  openly  became  one.  The  smart  thing  for  the  Ram- 
sey men  to  have  done  would  have  been  to  elect  Donnelly  to  the 
house  instead  of  bolting,  and  placing  him  under  obligations. 
Then,  by  promising  him  the  earth  (in  the  future),  they  might  have 
kept  him  out  of  the  race  and  had  plain  sailing.  As  it  was,  Don- 
nelly had  reached  that  desperate  state  in  politics  where  he  had 
nothing  to  lose,  because  it  was  already  lost,  and  everything  to 
gain.  A  man  in  that  position  is  a  hard  hitter  and  a  desperate 
fighter.  To  add  interest  to  the  occasion,  ex-Senator  Morton  S. 
Wilkinson,  who  had  been  shelved  by  Norton,  entered  the  lists, 
and  there  was  a  triangular  fight  on  hand,  which  bid  fair  to  make 
Mr.  Ramsey  serious  trouble. 

From  the  time  the  legislature  met  until  the  result,  nothing 
but  the  senatorial  fight  was  talked  of.  All  of  the  candidates  were 
present  in  person,  the  Ramsey  headquarters  being  at  the  Inter- 
national Hotel  (since    burned),  at  the  corner  of    Seventh    and 

(101) 


102  ^  ."  J  './   H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

.J'dc'iispn^|a'hd  Rbnnelly  and  Wilkinson  being  located  at  the  Mer- 
chants. The  two  last  named  were  in  complete  accord,  albeit  each 
one  was  a  little  suspicious  that  the  other  might  not  tote  fair. 
They  were  at  least  a  unit  in  their  desire  to  defeat  Ramsey,  and 
only  divided  as  to  who  should  be  the  lucky  man.  There  were 
54  Republicans  in  the  legislature,  and  it  required  28  to  secure 
the  caucus  nomination.  Perhaps  nothing  so  well  illustrates 
how  wrought  up  Mr.  Donnelly  was  as  to  state  that,  becom- 
ing satisfied  he  could  not  secure  more  than  26  votes  at  the  outset, 
he  decided  not  to  have  his  name  presented  at  the  caucus.  I  was 
always  in  doubt  whether  or  not  it  was  a  put-up  job,  but,  at  all 
events,  two  or  three  of  Wilkinson's  staunch  supporters  vehe- 
mently declared  that  they  would  never  support  Mr.  Donnelly. 
They  declared  themselves  in  readiness  to  vote  for  Ramsey  rather 
than  for  Donnelly.  As  Ramsey  personally  had  been  hostile  to 
Donnelly,  and  Ramsey's  friends  had  been  his  undoing,  Donnelly 
was  ready  to  sacrifice  anything  to  even  the  account.  Conse- 
quently he  made  the  sacrifice,  believing  that  he  could  give  every 
one  of  his  friends  to  Wilkinson,  though  the  sequel  proved  that 
that  was  a  delusion. 

Mr.  Donnelly's  withdrawal  was  not  made  public  until  the 
night  of  the  caucus,  which  was  held  on  the  evening  of  Jan.  14, 
1869.  A  few  hours  before  the  legislative  caucus  the  Ramsey 
men  held  a  caucus  at  the  International,  and  made  each  one  pres- 
ent not  only  arise  and  be  counted,  but  called  on  them,  individu- 
ally, to  publicly  pledge  themselves  to  Ramsey's  cause  by  some 
utterance.  I  doubt  whether  there  has  ever  been  such  another 
iron-clad  caucus  as  that  held  in  the  state.  I  was  in  the  anti-Ram- 
sey ranks,  but  we  were  not  at  all  disturbed  by  the  report  that  the 
Ramsey  caucus  had  more  than  28  present  or  accounted  for.  We 
had  more  than  that  pledged  against  Ramsey.  Of  course,  both 
sides  knew  that  in  the  outcome  some  one  would  get  cheated,  but 
with  that  sanguineness  peculiar  to  politics  each  side  thought 
that  the  double  dealers  would  cheat  the  other  fellow. 

The  Ramsey  men,  however,  were  more  suspicious  of  their 
forces  than  the  Donnellyites.  They  accordingly  got  a  red  card 
printed,  bearing  Ramsey's  name,  so  that  they  could  spot  anyone 
who  did  not  keep  faith.     This  red  card  scheme  was  kept  secret, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  103 

save  to  a  very  few  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  Ramsey's  temple. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  caucus  I  obtained  one  of 
the  red  cards  (how  it  is  not  necessary  to  explain,  as  some  people 
are  still  alive),  and  immediately  set  about  printing  similar  cards 
bearing  Wilkinson's  name.  The  Press  people  had  used  a  pecu- 
liar tint  of  red  which  it  was  not  easy  to  match.  General  Averill 
was  at  the  head  of  the  only  wholesale  paper  house  in  town,  and 
his  store  was  closed  for  the  night  before  I  got  there,  in  search 
of  the  cardboard.  Time  was  precious,  and  I  went  to  General 
Averill's  house  for  aid.  As  he  was  with  the  antis,  he  readily 
left  his  half-finished  supper,  and,  hastening  to  the  store,  we  were 
rewarded  by  finding  an  exact  match  for  the  Ramsey  cardboard. 
As  a  result  the  Donnelly-Wilkinson  forces  were  supplied,  half 
an  hour  before  the  caucus,  with  tickets  bearing  Wilkinson's 
name,  which  would  pass  muster  as  the  simon  pure  Ramsey  arti- 
cle when  dropped  in  the  box  before  the  eyes  of  the  tellers.  A 
number  of  Wilkinson  red  tickets  were  actually  voted,  and  the 
Press  the  next  morning  said  that  Ramsey's  vote  was  eight  less 
than  his  positive  pledges.  And  still  there  was  the  promised  num- 
ber of  red  cardboards  in  the  hat. 

The  first  move  of  the  Ramseyites  in  the  caucus  was  a  master 
stroke  and  proved  a  winner.  It  was  to  refuse  an  informal  ballot. 
They  were  absolutely  certain  that  a  large  number  of  their 
pledged  men  would  never  vote  twice  for  Ramsey,  and  it  was 
do  or  die  on  the  first  ballot.  The  Ramsey  men  elected  Dana 
E.  King,  brother  of  Wm.  S.  King,  chairman  of  the  caucus,  and 
two  tellers,  John  Hobart  of  Goodhue  and  Augustus  Armstrong 
of  Albert  Lea,  while  Dr.  S.  B.  Sheardown  was  the  Wilkinson 
teller.  The  Ramsey  forces  had  the  majority  publicly  pledged 
and  on  open  vote  they  stuck  to  their  text.  The  hope  and  prom- 
ise the  Wilkinson  men  had  was  that  on  the  secret  ballot  they 
would  prove  false  to  their  Ramsey  promise.  The  motion  to 
make  the  first  vote  formal  was  viva  voce,  and  the  pledged 
men  carried  it.  This  was  an  unheard  of  procedure  in  politics, 
and  the  Wilkinson  men  did  not  have  wit  enough  to  make  it 
informal  by  dropping  in  one  or  two  extra  ballots,  showing  more 
votes  in  the  hat  than  there  were  in  the  caucus.  There  were  54 
persons  present.     Necessary  to  a  choice  28.     The  first  and  only 


104  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONa 

ballot  stood:  Ramsey  28,  Wilkinson  22,  McMillan  i,  Windom 
I,  W.  H.  C.  Folsom  i,  blank  i.  And  the  light  went  out  in  the 
Wilkinson-Donnelly  camp. 

There  is  no  shadow  of  doubt  that  if  there  had  been  a  second 
ballot  there  would  have  been  no  second  term  for  Ramsey.  The 
anti-Ramsey  forces  were  not  prepared  for  the  tactics  of  making 
the  first  ballot  formal,  and  were  taken  off  their  feet.  Charley 
Clarke  of  Minneapolis  engineered  the  making  of  the  first  ballot 
formal,  and  he  showed  good  generalship.  I  think  such  a  thing 
as  making  the  first  ballot  formal  when  there  was  a  contest  has 
never  been  known,  before  or  since,  in  any  political  caucus  or 
convention  in  the  state.  And,  after  all,  when  it  was  too  late  it 
was  discovered  that  the  winning  ballot  should  have  been  informal, 
because  55  votes  were  cast  while  only  54  men  were  present.  W. 
D.  Washburn  was  sufficiently  a  candidate  to  get  some  pasters 
printed  bearing  his  name,  and  somebody  had  taken  one  of  the 
Ramsey  red  cards  and  pasted  Washburn's  name  over  it.  The 
red  tickets  were  not  distributed  until  the  ballot  was  ordered,  and 
no  one  had  a  chance  to  "fix"  his  Ramsey  ticket  save  under  the 
lynx-eyed  gaze  of  Clarke,  King  and  others.  The  member  "fix- 
ing" that  ticket,  in  his  haste  and  nervousness,  had  not  well 
secured  the  paster,  and  it  came  off  in  the  hat.  It  was  found, 
curled  up  in  the  pile  of  tickets,  and  was  legible.  The  Ramsey 
ticket  showed  that  it  had  had  a  paster  on  its  surface.  In  spite  of 
this,  the  tellers  threw  the  slip  away  bearing  Washburn's  name 
and  counted  the  ticket  upon  which  it  had  been  placed  for  Ram- 
sey. That  one  vote  gave  Ramsey  28,  the  exact  number  neces- 
sary, and  no  more.  Both  ballots  should  have  been  counted. 
That  would  have  made  one  too  many  votes  and  forced  another 
ballot  in  spite  of  the  Ramsey  tactics.  Dr.  Sheardown,  the  Wil- 
kinson teller,  was  a  most  faithful  and  honest  friend,  but  he  was 
not  shrewd  in  politics  or  he  would  have  insisted  on  counting 
both  paster  and  red  ticket. 

The  two  pivotal  men  who  gave  the  nomination  to  Ramsey 
were  Senator  W.  W.  Prindle  and  Representative  George  Bry- 
ant, both  of  Wabasha  county.  That  county  was  intensely  strong 
for  Donnelly,  and  these  men  excused  themselves  by  saying  that 
so  long  as  Donnelly  was  in  the  field  they  would  stand  by  him, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  105 

but  on  his  withdrawal  they  were  at  Hberty  to  go  for  Ramsey. 
It  made  such  a  storm  that  they  held  a  pocket  meeting  at  Waba- 
sha, which  resolved  that  they  did  right. 

The  election  in  the  legislature  took  place  January  19th,  and 
resulted  in  Ramsey  receiving  52  votes,  one  Republican  being 
absent  and  one  excused.  The  Democrats,  13  in  number,  voted 
for  C.  W.  Nash. 

One  of  the  poetic  gems  of  that  campaign  was  this: 

The  combat  deepens — on  ye  brave, 
Who  rush  to  Ramsey,  "stamps"  to  save. 
Wave,  Aleck,  all  your  greenbacks,  wave, 
And  charge  it  to  the  treasury. 

It  was  this  campaign  which  gave  birth  to  the  "seed  wheat" 
term,  which  has  been  handed  down  in  Minnesota  politics  ever 
since.  One  of  Donnelly's  ardent  supporters  was  discovered 
coming  out  of  the  Ramsey  headquarters  at  the  International 
and  a  friend  said  to  him: 

"What  are  you  doing  there — you  are  not  going  to  vote  for 
Ramsey,  are  you?" 

"Oh,  no,  no,"  was  the  reply.  "I  just  went  in  to  see  a  man 
who  wants  to  sell  some  seed  wheat." 

His  vote  was  duly  recorded  for  Ramsey  at  the  caucus. 

The  St.  Paul  Press  claimed,  the  next  morning  after  the  cau- 
cus in  1869,  had  nominated  Senator  Ramsey  for  re-election,  that 
Ramsey  received  eight  votes  less  than  were  positively  pledged 
to  him.  This  was  an  undoubted  fact,  and  forcibly  demonstrates 
the  dilemma  in  which  politicians  are  placed.  I  happen  to  be  able 
to  give  an  account  of  how  one  of  the  eight  became  minus  to 
Ramsey,  and  it  will  illustrate  a  very  common  situation  in  politics. 

One  of  the  prominent  and  active  members  of  the  legislature 
was  indebted  to  Wilkinson  for  a  valuable  federal  office,  bestowed 
when  he  (Wilkinson)  was  United  States  senator.  The  legislator 
still  had  future  favors  to  ask,  and,  prior  to  knowing  that  Wil- 
kinson would  be  a  candidate  for  the  senate  against  Ramsey, 
had  pledged  himself  to  Ramsey.  Wilkinson's  candidacy  threw 
the  legislator  into  a  cold  perspiration,  Wilk  had  come  on  earth 
again  by  being  elected  to  the  house  from  the  First  district,  and 


106  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  due  to  take  his  seat  with  the  incoming  administration  of 
General  Grant  in  March,  1869.  Consequently,  whether  Wilkinson 
lost  or  won  the  senatorship,  he  would  still  be  in  the  political 
saddle,  prepared  to  render  good  or  evil  to  those  who  had  votes 
in  the  legislature.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Ramsey  lost,  he  would 
be  politically  dead,  and  could  neither  reward  his  friends  nor  pun- 
ish his  enemies.  As  politics  go,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
man  with  a  vote  in  the  legislature  was  on  both  sides. 

This  dual  politician  was  taken  in  hand  by  a  friend  of  Wil- 
kinson's, and  the  obligations  of  the  past,  as  well  as  the  hopes 
of  the  future  (especially  the  latter),  were  pleaded  with  such  force 
that  he  gave  his  positive  promise  to  vote  for  Wilkinson  in  the 
caucus.  He  was,  however,  so  conspicuous  in  the  Ramsey  camp 
that  he  was  obliged  to  attend  the  secret  Ramsey  meetings,  and 
was  present  at  the  last  one,  held  a  few  hours  before  the  caucus, 
and  renewed  his  pledge  of  loyalty  to  Ramsey.  But  for  the  fact 
that  the  Wilkinson  forces  secured  red  tickets,  similar  to  the 
Ramsey  document,  he  would  probably  have  kept  his  Ramsey 
pledge,  as  that  was  public,  while  the  other  was  very  private.  The 
avowed  Wilkinson  men  voted  plain  white  tickets,  and  he  could 
not  use  such  a  ticket  without  being  detected.  It  was  for  the  very 
purpose  of  preventing  such  detection  that  the  red  ticket  was 
devised  by  the  Ramsey  people,  and  the  importance  of  meeting 
red  with  red  could  not  be  overestimated  by  the  anti-Ramsey  fac- 
tion. 

A  short  time  before  the  caucus  Wilkinson's  friend  went  to  the 
legislator  and  gave  him  a  red  ticket  bearing  Wilkinson's  name. 
In  doing  so  he  said : 

"How  will  I  know  that  you  actually  vote  this  ticket  ?" 

"I  will  put  a  pinhole  in  it,"  was  the  quick-witted  reply  of  the 
legislator. 

When  the  battle  was  over,  the  Wilkinson  manipulator 
inspected  the  ballots,  and,  sure  enough,  Wilkinson  was  there  in 
red,  with  a  pinhole  through  him. 

The  Ramsey  men  were  shrewd  enough  to  inspect  the  Wil- 
kinson reds  very  closely,  and  they,  too,  discovered  the  pinhole, 
and  knew  it  was  "given  as  a  sign."  They  made  strenuous  efforts 
to  ascertain  who  the  pinhole  traitor  in  their  ranks  was,  in  order 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  107 

to  administer  political  punishment,  but  the  secret  was  kept,  and 
no  revenge  was  ever  taken.  This  dual  poHtician  went  to  his 
grave  many  years  ago,  and  I  think  but  one  person  now  living 
besides  myself  knows  his  name.  I  am  sure  that  many  of  the 
old-time  politicians  would  be  glad  to  know  who  he  was,  even  at 
this  distant  day,  as  it  would  explain  what  was  a  great  mystery 
at  the  time.  But  he  averaged  well  with  the  politicians  of  that 
day  and  this,  and  I  will  not  disturb  his  present  rest  by  specific 
identification.  One  of  the  "eight  shrinkage"  is  thus  accounted 
for,  and  the  other  seven  I  may  reach  in  a  later  edition. 


OBSERVATION  SEVENTEEN. 


The  Liberal  Republicans  of  1872. 


While  a  thousand  men  will  leave  their  homes,  pay  railroad 
fare  to  the  city  and  hotel  bills,  not  to  mention  cigars,  drinks  and 
treats  thrown  in,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  four  delegates  to 
a  national  convention,  it  is  refreshing  to  note  that  there  was  once 
a  prominent  national  convention  where  there  was  no  scramble 
to  be  on  the  delegation  from  Minnesota.  As  illustrative  of  a 
thousand  men  coming  together  for  practically  nothing,  and  as 
proof  positive  that  such  an  event  will  happen,  I  cite  the  Repub- 
lican convention  held  in  Minneapolis  the  current  year,  1904,  to 
select  four  delegates  at  large  to  attend  the  national  convention  at 
Chicago  which  nominated  President  Roosevelt. 

A  month  before  the  convention  met  the  names  of  the  four 
delegates  were  printed  in  the  newspapers  as  having  been  selected 
by  the  managers  of  the  party,  and  consequently  the  state  con- 
vention at  Minneapolis  was  composed  of  a  mere  set  of  auto- 
matons. They  came  down,  as  stated,  perspired,  drank  and 
smoked  in  the  interest  of  their  party,  and  named  the  identical 
four  delegates  whose  names  had  been  printed  in  the  papers  for 
weeks  previously. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  convention  where  there  was  no  scram- 
ble to  be  a  delegate.  In  1872  there  was  a  violent  outbreak  in  the 
Republican  party  against  President  Grant.  This  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  rugged  old  soldier  had  selected  a  set  of 
friends  and  stuck  by  them  through  thick  and  thin.  No  presi- 
dent ever  pleased  everybody,  and  the  fact  that  Grant  must  of 
necessity  favor  some  crowd  rendered  it  morally  certain  that  he 
would  oflfend  some  other  crowd. 

(108) 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  109 

This  was  the  situation  in  1872,  and  the  RepubUcan  party 
was  never  so  near  its  disruption  as  at  that  eventful  period.  I 
had  been  in  revolt  against  pretty  much  everything  since  the  dis- 
astrous Donnelly  campaign  of  1868,  only  waiting  to  see  an 
opportunity  to  produce  an  everlasting  smash  in  anything  which 
came  up ;  and  when  I  could  not  absolutely  find  a  head  to  hit  I 
would  endeavor  to  manufacture  one,  trusting  to  have  the  head 
bob  up  serenely  and  justify  the  violent  action. 

The  so-called  liberal  Republicans  of  187^  had  no  state,  dis- 
trict or  national  organization.  Everything  was  crude,  and  the 
call  for  the  convention  to  be  held  at  Cincinnati  was  for  a  mass 
convention.  But  the  times  were  ripe  for  mischief.  Carl  Schurz, 
Samuel  Bowles  of  the  Springfield  (Mass.)  Republican,  Murat 
Halstead  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  and  other  quite  conspicu- 
ous national  characters  were  leaders  in  the  revolt.  Consequently, 
when  I  appeared  in  the  role  of  a  volunteer  John  the  Baptist  for 
the  crusade  I  had  a  small  but  immediate  following.  The  Dis- 
patch rallied  Minnesota  to  the  front  with  unceasing  energy.  The 
more  General  Grant  was  assailed  the  more  he  stood  by  his 
friends,  and  the  so-called  liberal  Republicans,  but  in  reality 
illiberal,  came  into  existence  in  quite  a  formidable  manner. 
Without  some  newspaper  to  lead  the  way  no  progress  could 
have  been  made,  as  there  was  no  way  for  the  malcontents  to  be 
brought  together,  but  the  newspaper  afforded  the  nucleus.  The 
result  was  that  by  great  effort  we  secured  enough  recalcitrant 
Republicans  in  Minnesota  to  go  to  Cincinnati  to  make  up  a 
delegation,  when  it  was  decided  later  to  make  it  a  delegate 
instead  of  a  mass  convention. 

I  do  not  think  any  state  conventions  were  held.  At  all 
events,  most  of  the  states  did  like  Minnesota,  and  held  no  con- 
vention, trusting  to  those  who  might  volunteer  to  go.  There 
was  such  a  revolt  and  restlessness  in  the  Republican  ranks  that 
thousands  gathered  at  Cincinnati  in  an  informal  manner.  It 
was  a  mass,  or,  perhaps,  I  might  say,  a  mob  convention,  as  it 
was  unwieldy  and  impossible  to  manage  in  its  original  form. 
The  result  was,  after  the  crowd  had  gathered,  the  manipulators 
decided  to  make  it  a  delegate  convention,  giving  each  state  the 
representation  usually  accorded,  of  delegates  to  double  the  num- 


110  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

ber  of  the  members  of  the  senate  and  house  from  the  respective 
states.  That  gave  Minnesota  the  cabaHstic  number  "lo,"  which 
figured  quite  prominently  in  our  poHtical  history  eight  years 
later.  When  we  came  to  count  noses  a  few  days  before  the  con- 
vention was  to  convene,  we  found  there  were  1 1  Minnesotans  at 
Cincinnati,  and,  as  I  was  entitled  to  a  newspaper  seat,  the  remain- 
ing "lo"  were  declared  delegates,  and  everybody  was  as  happy 
as  a  clam  at  high  tide. 

The  delegation  thus  auspiciously  made  up  was  composed  of 
M.  S.  Wilkinson  and  J.  B.  Hubbell  of  Mankato,  Aaron  Good- 
rich, Samuel  Mayall,  John  X.  Davidson  and  Theodore  Ileilscher 
of  St.  Paul,  W.  W.  Mayo  of  Rochester,  Thomas  Wilson  of 
Winona,  C.  D.  Sherwood  of  Fillmore  county  and  H.  Williams,, 
who  seems  to  have  been  unidentified  at  the  time.  The  honors 
were  further  divided,  making  Wilkinson  chairman  or  president 
of  the  delegation,  Goodrich  vice  president,  Heilscher  member 
of  the  platform  committee,  and  so  on  until  everyone  had  a  peg 
to  hang  on.  W.  L.  Ames  of  St.  Paul  and  F.  Schulenberg  of 
Stillwater  appeared  the  second  day  and  were  given  seats  as  alter- 
nates. The  delegation  was  far  from  harmonious  as  to  the  selec- 
tion of  a  candidate.  Goodrich  thought  the  whole  movement 
would  be  sent  to  the  dogs  if  David  Davis  of  Illinois  was  not 
made  the  nominee  for  president.  Wilkinson  pinned  his  faith 
to  ex-Senator  Trumbull  of  Illinois.  Mayall  was  sure  that  Charles 
Francis  Adams  of  Massachusetts  was  the  man  for  the  move- 
ment. I  do  not  recall  that  Greeley  had  a  single  supporter  in 
the  delegation.  This  Minnesota  sentiment  was  a  fair  representa- 
tion of  the  whole  convention.  It  was  anybody  to  beat  Grant, 
but  a  multitude  of  counsels  as  to  who  the  leader  should  be. 
Whitelaw  Reid,  the  managing  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune, 
was  present,  leading  a  forlorn  hope  for  Greeley — evidently  fore- 
seeing that  the  promotion  of  his  chief  to  the  presidency  would 
make  him  (Reid)  editor  of  the  Tribune.  At  first  the  candidacy 
of  Greeley  was  almost  regarded  as  a  joke.  The  city  was 
thronged  with  visitors,  and  the  talk  of  the  streets  and  hotels 
at  the  outset  was  divided  between  Adams,  Trumbull  and  Davis. 
Adams  was  the  decided  favorite.  This  was  partly  due  to  the 
vigorous  campaign  made  by  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  (Rep.) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  Ill 

in  Adams'  behalf.  Murat  Halsted  edited  the  Commercial  at  that 
time,  and  Samuel  Bowles,  Sr.,  of  the  Springfield  (Mass.)  Repub- 
lican joined  him  in  writing  for  the  Commercial  in  support  of 
Adams.  The  Commercial  bristled  all  over  with  Adams  enthu- 
siasm. The  Enquirer  (Dem.)  held  up  the  forlorn  Greeley  hope, 
and,  as  it  was  hoped  the  Democrats  would  ratify  the  nominee, 
the  action  of  the  Enquirer  was  quite  a  bracer  for  Greeley.  The 
staid  old  Gazette  stood  by  Grant  and  the  straight  Republican 
faith. 

The  platform  gave  about  as  much  trouble  as  the  ticket.  The 
tariflf  was  a  much  mooted  question,  and  how  any  Republican 
could  stand  on  a  tariff  platform  which  Democrats  could  endorse 
was  one  of  the  "little  joker"  problems  of  politics.  The  strong 
argument  urged  against  Greeley  was  that  he  had  always  bitterly 
fought  the  Democrats  on  the  tariff,  favoring  high  protection, 
and  his  nomination,  it  was  claimed,  would  render  a  Democratic 
endorsement  impossible.  The  versatility  of  the  platform  maker 
is  something  to  be  admired,  even  if  the  platform  is  not.  When 
the  platform  came  out  of  the  committee  it  relegated  the  tariff 
to  the  congressional  districts  as  a  "local  issue."  After  this  the 
road  for  Greeley's  success  was  apparently  easy.  Balloting  was 
begun  at  noon  of  the  third  day,  and  the  first  ballot  stood :  Adams 
203,  Greeley  160,  Trumbull  no,  Davis  92^.  The  sixth  and 
last  ballot  stood:  Greeley  338,  Adams  321.  When  it  was  seen 
that  Greeley  was  the  nominee,  changes  poured  in,  and  the  official 
record  of  the  last  ballot  was  Greeley  482,  Adams  147.  The  con- 
vention went  wild,  as  usual,  over  the  result,  and,  while  there 
was  sore  disappointment,  to  have  heard  the  yells  and  seen  the 
hats  tossed  high  in  the  air,  one  might  be  pardoned  for  thinking 
every  man  in  the  convention  had  secured  his  first  choice.  It  was 
a  deal  with  the  friends  of  Gratz  Brown  of  Missouri  to  give 
Brown  the  nomination  for  vice  president,  which  pulled  Greeley 
through.  The  Democrats,  with  much  dissension  in  their  ranks, 
held  a  national  convention  m  Baltimore,  in  July,  and  ratified  the 
Cincinnati  ticket,  declaring  on  the  tariff: 

"We  remit  the  discussion  of  the  subject  to  the  people  in  the 
congressional  districts,  and  to  the  decision  of  the  congress  there- 
on, wholly  free  from  executive  interference  or  dictation." 


112  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Greeley  made  a  most  brilliant  campaign,  making  40  able 
speeches,  in  which  he  never  repeated  himself,  but  proved  he  had 
mastered  the  art  of  political  diplomacy.  But  September  and 
October  were  fatal  to  his  prospects,  and  he  only  secured  66  elec- 
toral votes  to  286  for  Grant.  In  the  popular  vote  Grant  received 
3>597>07o  votes  and  Greeley  2,841,097.  In  Minnesota  Grant 
had  55,117  to  34,423  for  Greeley.  The  only  states  Greeley  car- 
ried were  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  Missouri,  South  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee.     Even  New  Jersey  failed  to  go  Democratic. 

The  campaign  killed  Greeley.  The  second  day  after  the 
election  he  published  a  card,  saying  that  he  had  resumed  control 
of  the  Tribune,  but  he  had  not.  The  crafty  Whitelaw  Reid,  who 
had  so  ardently  supported  him  at  Cincinnati,  was  in  the  saddle 
in  the  Tribune  office  and  excluded  Greeley's  editorials  when  he 
saw  fit.  This  was  the  finishing  blow,  his  mind  tottered,  and 
November  29th,  but  a  trifle  over  three  weeks  after  his  defeat, 
he  was  dead. 

Greeley  could  have  survived  political  adversity,  but  the  New 
York  Tribune  was  his  heart  and  soul,  his  very  life  blood,  and 
after  his  defeat,  and  it  dawned  upon  him  that  he  was  no  longer 
the  Tribune,  but  that  Whitelaw  Reid  was  in  the  saddle  and  could 
absolutely  exclude  his  (Greeley's)  editorials,  he  could  no  longer 
endure  the  strain,  and  his  mind  gave  way.  It  was  a  moral  mur- 
der to  dethrone  him  from  the  Tribune,  but  human  ambition  stops 
at  nothing.  Greeley's  death  in  a  madhouse  three  weeks  after 
election  was  a  pitiful  tragedy.  Whitelaw  Reid's  marriage  to 
the  daughter  of  D.  O.  Mills,  the  California  millionaire,  enabled 
him  to  become  the  owner  of  the  Tribune  as  well  as  the  editor. 
But  the  halo  of  Horace  Greeley's  fame  will  cling  to  the  Tribune 
for  many  generations.  Some  day  his  name  and  fame,  and  even 
his  existence,  will  not  even  be  a  memory,  only  a  chapter  of  for- 
gotten history.  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  that  period  has  not 
yet  been  reached,  though  I  do  not  anticipate  it  is  very  far  dis- 
tant. 


OBSERVATION  EIGHTEEN. 


How  I  Was  Appointed  Pension  Agent  but  Failed  to  Get  Con- 
firmation— The  Results. 


In  presenting  this  observation  to  the  pubHc,  I  wish  to  say  in 
a  prefatory  way  that  the  story  herein  told  was,  a  few  years  ago, 
narrated  by  myself  in,  substantially,  its  present  form,  at  a  gath- 
ering of  25  or  30  gentlemen  at  a  private  residence  in  St.  Paul 
for  a  political  evening.  At  that  gathering  both  Governor  Ram- 
sey and  Senator  Davis  were  present,  and  so  far  as  what  I  said 
referred  to  them  personally  they  conceded  that  the  statements 
were  correct. 

About  4  o'clock  one  morning,  in  tne  early  summer  of  1870, 
there  was  a  tapping  on  the  outside  window  of  my  sleeping  apart- 
ment, which  awoke  me.  A  newspaper  friend  on  his  way  home 
had  called  to  tell  me  that  the  Associated  Press  to  the  morning 
paper  which  he  represented  had  brought  the  news  that  I  was 
appointed  pension  agent  for  the  State  of  Minnesota.  Having 
anticipated  nothing  of  the  kind,  the  information  came  to  me  as 
a  matter  of  great  surprise,  and  I  may  add,  as  well,  as  a  matter 
of  great  pleasure. 

At  that  time  the  pension  office  was  considered  one  of  the 
choicest  plums  in  the  state,  though  there  were  probably  others 
with  larger  compensation.  It  carried  with  it  a  net  revenue  of 
$6,000  per  annum,  which  is  not  an  uncomfortable  revenue  to 
add  to  any  man's  business. 

My  first  effort,  when  I  arose,  was  to  ascertain  how  it  hap- 
pened. I  ultimately  learned  that  I  was  indebted  to  General  Gar- 
field (later  president  of  the  United  States)  for  the  position.  My 
father  and  brother,  being  located  in  the  home  county  of  Gen- 
eral Garfield  in  Ohio  had  given  him  his  first  start  in  political 

(US) 

8 


114  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

life  by  making  it  certain  that  he  could  go  to  the  state  senate  of 
Ohio.  My  brother  happened  to  visit  Washington  a  little  pre- 
viously to  this  appointment,  and,  meeting  General  Garfield,  the 
matter  came  up. 

Hon.  J.  D.  Cox  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  was  a  warm  personal  friend 
of  General  Garfield;  he  was  also  secretary  of  the  interior,  and 
a  word  from  Garfield  secured  the  pension  agency  appointment. 

Looking  back  at  the  incident  after  the  lapse  of  over  thirty 
years,  it  is  positively  amusing  to  me  to  recall  the  almost  blanched 
cheeks  of  my  political  opponents  as  I  met  them  on  the  street 
that  day. 

I  had  been  publishing  the  Dispatch  for  two  or  three  years, 
and  during  nearly  all  the  time  was  involved  in  a  bitter  factional 
controversy  inside  of  the  Republican  party.  As  I  had  not 
learned  at  that  time  to  spare  anyone  who  seemed  to  me  to  deserve 
criticism,  I  fancy  that  I  had  obtained  about  as  sincere  and  bitter 
political  enemies  as  any  man  can  secure  in  poHtics.  The  result 
was  that  there  were  numerous  conferences  that  day  among  my 
enemies  to  determine  what  could  be  done  to  prevent  Hall  from 
being  pension  agent.  Unfortunately,  the  Atlantic  cable  had  been 
laid  a  short  time  previous  to  this  episode,  and  that  was  my  undo- 
ing. Senator  Ramsey  was  in  Paris  at  the  time  negotiating  a 
new  postal  treaty  with  France  and  the  waters  of  the  ocean  siz- 
zled that  day  with  messages  from  St.  Paul  to  Paris  protesting 
against  this  appointment. 

The  result  was  that  Senator  Ramsey  promptly  cabled  Gen- 
eral Grant  asking  that  the  appointment  should  be  held  up  until  he 
returned.  President  Grant  was  at  Long  Branch,  but  he  sus- 
pended the  festivities  of  the  hour  long  enough  to  wire  Secre- 
tary Cox  to  hold  me  up,  which,  of  course,  was  done. 

Before  this  telegraphic  correspondence  took  place,  however, 
the  formal  appointment  had  been  made  out  and  forwarded  to  me, 
accompanied  by  a  bond  for  $250,000.  There  were  no  surety 
companies  in  those  days ;  but  that  commission,  notwithstanding 
the  large  bond,  looked  very  good  to  me  when  it  reached  me, 
and  I  think  I  read  it  over  till  I  could  repeat  it  as  readily  as  if  it 
had  been  the  Lord's  prayer. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  115 

Inspired  by  its  language  I  also  went  out,  and  in  a  few  days 
called  on  my  political  friends,  who  were  as  warm  in  their  friend- 
ships as  the  other  fellows  were  in  their  enmities,  and  made  up 
my  bond,  which  I  duly  forwarded  to  Washington.  It  was  not 
a  great  while  before  I  found  that  there  was  a  cog  loose  some- 
where, as  no  response  came  beyond  the  mere  formal  acknowl- 
edgment relative  to  the  bond.  Of  course,  I  continued  investi- 
gating to  see  what  the  trouble  was,  and  finally  ascertained  the 
action  Senator  Ramsey  had  taken,  inspired  by  his  St.  Paul 
friends.  In  fact,  the  atmosphere  about  St.  Paul  for  a  time  indi- 
cated that  some  great  calamity  had  fallen  or  was  about  to  fall 
upon  the  community  or  the  world  at  large. 

In  due  time  Senator  Ramsey  returned  to  the  United  States, 
but  did  not  come  to  St.  Paul.  As  the  mountain  would  not  come 
to  Mahomet,  I  concluded  that  it  was  better  for  Mahomet  to 
go  to  the  mountain,  and  so  I  went  down  to  Washington  to  see 
what  could  be  done  in  the  matter. 

Judge  R.  F.  Crowell  was  Senator  Ramsey's  private  secretary. 
It  so  happened  that  Judge  Crowell  was  greatly  indebted  to  me 
for  political  favors  and  felt  very  kindly  toward  me  personally. 
He  was  especially  anxious  to  help  me  secure  the  appointment, 
and  I  thought  the  alpha  and  omega  of  life  depended  on  my 
obtaining  that  $6,000  per  annum. 

I  was  publishing  an  independent  newspaper  whose  chief 
occupation  during  the  then  short  period  of  its  existence  was  to 
make  mischief  for  the  Republican  party ;  and  I  argued  to  myself 
that  possibly  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  harmony  of  the 
party  if  I  came  into  the  fold,  as  I  was  and  always  had  been  up 
to  that  time  a  straight  and  strenuous  Republican.  I  worked 
the  problem  out  in  my  own  mind  before  calling  upon  Senator 
Ramsey,  and  thought  I  would  put  the  case  to  him  in  what 
seemed  to  me  a  manly  way.  I  went  with  Judge  Crowell  to  call 
upon  Senator  Ramsey  and  said  to  him,  in  substance,  "Senator, 
I  do  not  claim  that  I  have  any  reason  to  ask  you  for  a  favor.  1 
have  done  my  best  to  oppose  your  election  as  senator.  I  repre- 
sented an  element  in  the  party  which  was  opposed  to  you,  and 
represented  it  as  vigorously  as  I  knew  how.  I  have  simply  one 
suggestion  to  submit  to  you.     You  are  familiar  with  the  situa- 


116  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

tion ;  you  are  familiar  with  the  stormy  times  we  have  had  and 
the  dissensions  in  the  party.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  you  do  not 
think  it  would  be  advisable  and  good  politics  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, as  you  are  in  no  wise  responsible  for  my  appoint- 
ment, to  allow  me  to  hold  the  position.  I  recognize  that  I  can- 
not retain  it  without  confirmation  by  the  senate  and  that  you 
absolutely  control  that,  so  that  it  is  entirely  in  your  hands 
whether  I  shall  be  allowed  to  retain  the  position  which  General 
Garfield  has  kindly  secured  for  me." 

This  argument,  in  my  youthful  verdancy,  seemed  to  me  to 
make  an  impression  upon  Senator  Ramsey.  Perhaps  nothing 
could  better  illustrate  how  little  I  knew  of  men  and  affairs  at 
that  time  than  the  thought  I  had  that  I  had  made  an  impression 
upon  him.  His  life-long  political  friends  were  my  enemies,  and 
were  loading  the  mails  as  well  as  the  wires  with  demands,  threats 
and  all  kinds  of  incendiary  documents  against  my  holding  the 
position ;  and  anyone  of  mature  years  or  any  experience  in  polit- 
ical life  might  have  known  that  no  influence  whatever  could 
have  ever  induced  Senator  Ramsey  to  allow  my  confirmation. 
In  fact,  he  would  have  written  his  political  death  warrant  if  he 
had  allowed  it,  though,  as  the  sequel  proved,  he  wrote  his  polit- 
ical death  warrant  by  turning  me  down. 

In  calmer  and  wiser  moments  I  long  since  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Senator  Ramsey  did  exactly  what  he  ought  to  have 
done  when  he  refused  me.  It  was  before  the  consolidation  of 
The  Pioneer  and  The  Press. 

The  Press  had  in  reality  been  started  by  Governor  Marshall 
in  i860  with  the  view  of  supporting  Ramsey  and  his  faction.  It 
had  consistently  been  his  friend  through  storm  and  surrshine. 
The  Press  demanded  my  scalp,  and  it  would  not  have  been 
decent  for  him  to  have  turned  down  his  old  friends  simply  upon 
the  vague  idea  that  a  former  political  enemy  transformed  into  a 
friend  by  selfish  motives  might  possibly  at  some  vague  and 
indefinite  period  be  "good."  For  twenty-five  years  the  propri- 
etors of  the  Press  and  myself  were  speechless,  though  we  met 
frequently,  and  that  their  demands  upon  Ramsey  should  have 
been  regarded  in  view  of  the  state  of  feelings  existing  between 
us,  both  as  citizens  and  as  editors,  was  the  most  natural  thing  in 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  117 

the  world.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  in  later  years  Senator  Ramsey 
and  myself  became  excellent  friends.  We  used  to  talk  it  over 
and  have  a  good  friendly  laugh,  especially  over  the  bushels  of 
oysters  which  Judge  Crowell  and  myself  managed  to  conceal 
that  memorable  night  when  what  I  thought  the  destiny  of  the 
world  was  hanging  in  the  balance.  But  time  brings  its  revenges, 
and  it  did  in  this  case. 

After  my  argument  Senator  Ramsey  assured  me  in  his  suave 
way  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to  comply  with  my  request  if  he 
possibly  could.  I  saw  him  two  or  three  times  while  in  Wash- 
ington, and  left  the  city  thoroughly  under  the  impression  that  I 
was  going  to  win ;  in  fact,  Judge  Crowell,  who  was  really  my 
friend,  was  under  the  same  impression,  so  that  I  was  not  the 
only  "vealy"  personage  in  the  matter. 

I  remember  very  well  the  memorable  night  when  I  had  it  out 
with  Ramsey,  calling  upon  him  two  or  three  times  the  same 
evening.  Between  our  calls  Judge  Crowell  and  myself  went  out 
to  Harvey's  and  braced  up  with  a  bushel  or  two  of  steamed  oys- 
ters. When  we  rounded  up  the  evening  festivities,  about  half 
past  two  in  the  morning,  we  found  that  between  us  we  had  eaten 
four  bushels  and  a  half  of  steamed  oysters.  That  incident  shows 
the  strenuousness  of  the  situation. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  my  argument  with  Senator  Ramsey  im- 
plied, without  absolutely  saying  so,  that  I  would  publish  a  "good" 
and  straight  Republican  newspaper  if  my  request  was  granted. 
In  other  words,  I  was  ready  to  sell  my  soul  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
As  I  look  at  it  now  I  am  free  to  say  I  am  ashamed  of  it.  But 
those  were  strenuous  times,  and  I  think  I  would  have  sold  souls 
"short"  at  that  time  and  gone  "long"  on  salvation  if  I  could 
have  gotten  that  office.  But,  of  course,  I  didn't  get  it,  and  never 
had  the  remotest  chance  of  getting  it  outside  of  my  own  imagina- 
tion. 

In  due  time  Colonel  Rogers,  a  crippled  officer  in  the  Union 
service,  was  appointed  to  the  office,  and  my  bond  was  returned 
to  me,  and  years  ago  consigned  to  the  waste-paper  basket. 

The  whole  object  of  telling  this  story,  as  I  told  it  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  gentlemen  before  mentioned,  is  to  show  what  large 
results  grow  out  of  what  really  was  a  small  afifair  in  the  body 
politic,  though  it  was  an  immense  afifair  to  me  personally. 


118  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

My  overtures  for  peace  having  been  spurned  by  Senator 
Ramsey,  I  simply  considered  that  my  ambition  in  Hfe  was  to  be 
more  obstreperous  than  ever,  and  felt  there  was  nothing  for  me 
to  do  but  to  make  mischief.  The  consequence  was  I  was  con- 
tinually looking  for  heads  with  a  view  of  hitting  them,  and  I 
generally  found  some. 

A  little  later  the  question  of  Senator  Ramsey  having  a  third 
term  in  the  senate  was  coming  up ;  and,  of  course,  for  all  these 
great  events  there  must  be  slates  made  up.  The  Ramsey  slate 
was  accordingly  fixed  up,  with  W.  D.  Washburn  of  Minneapolis 
as  the  candidate  for  governor.  If  that  slate  had  gone  through 
Senator  Ramsey  would  have  easily  been  re-elected  for  his  third 
term,  but  unfortunately  for  him  I  was  still  on  earth  and  ren- 
dered absolutely  reckless  by  the  fatal  mistake  he  had  made  in 
turning  me  down.  It  was  not  a  very  high  motive,  I  admit,  but 
it  was  a  motive  nevertheless  of  evening  up  the  deal.  And  I  also 
admit  that  I  took  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  doing  it. 

In  casting  about  to  see  what  I  could  do  to  disrupt  the  slate, 
I  hit  upon  the  plan  of  bringing  out  another  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor against  Washburn,  knowing  that  everything  was  set  up 
for  Washburn. 

Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  was  at  that  time  United  States  district 
attorney,  appointed  by  Ramsey.  He  had  gained  some  fame  and 
prestige  in  the  state  by  his  lecture  on  "Modern  Feudalism."  I 
shall  treat  in  another  chapter  more  in  detail  of  the  manner  in 
which  I  brought  Mr.  Davis  to  the  front.  I  only  wish  to  state 
here  briefly  and  bluntly  the  facts.  I"  had  very  little  acquaintance 
with  Davis  at  that  time,  excepting  that  the  town  was  so  small 
that  everybody  knew  everybody  else.  We  were  not  intimate, 
and  there  was  no  particular  reason  why  I  should  present  his 
name  for  governor,  except  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  defeat- 
ing Washburn  and  so  knock  one  of  the  main  props  out  from 
under  Ramsey's  desire  for  a  third  term  in  the  United  States  sen- 
ate. Without  prolonging  I  can  state  what  everyone  now  knows, 
that  the  move  was  successful. 

After  a  bitter  contest  in  an  all-day  convention,  Mr.  Davis 
was  nominated  for  governor  over  Washburn  by  one  vote,  and 
the  face  of  Minnesota  politics  has  worn  a  different  hue  ever 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  119 

since.  Davis  was  elected  governor  by  a  small  majority.  1 
always  felt  that  it  was  really  the  intention  of  the  Republican 
forces  to  defeat  him  because  it  was  well  understood  that  if  he 
was  elected  governor  he  would  also  be  a  candidate  for  the  sen- 
ate ;  in  fact  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  I  used  in  his  behalf 
in  my  newspaper  was  that  if  Davis  was  elected  governor  he 
would  oppose  Ramsey  for  the  senate.  There  was  no  conceal- 
ment about  it.  In  fact  I  think  I  could  have  made  at  times  a 
greater  political  success  by  being  a  little  more  wary  and  secre- 
tive, but  I  generally  followed  the  rule,  when  I  had  anything  to 
say,  to  say  it  very  plainly  and  with  no  concealment,  leaving  God 
and  the  other  members  of  the  Republican  party  to  determine 
the  results. 

To  be  brief,  Davis  was  elected.  The  celebrated  senatorial 
contest  ensued  in  which  Davis  and  his  friends  came  in  as  a  dis- 
turbing factor.  The  Ramsey  caucus  was  bolted,  Ramsey  was 
defeated  for  the  third  term,  and  Judge  McMillan  elected  in  his 
place. 

Mr.  Washburn  has  attained  high  honors  since  then,  but  he 
never  has  been  governor  of  Minnesota  as  yet,  and  Senator  Ram- 
sey went  to  his  grave  deprived  of  his  third  term  as  senator.  All 
of  this  grew  out  of  the  little  incident  I  have  narrated,  where  for 
the  disgraceful  sop  of  a  $6,000  office  I  was  ready  to  be  "good." 

Looking  back  at  it  calmly  and  dispassionately  after  the  lapse 
of  years,  I  feel  grateful  to  Senator  Ramsey  and  my  political 
enemies  for  guarding  against  any  such  accident  as  might  have 
happened  to  me  if  I  really  had  been  "good.'' 

In  writing  this  chapter  I  do  not  assume  that  it  will  interest  the 
public  at  all,  but  it  interests  me  immensely,  and  I  am  a  good 
deal  more  desirous  of  interesting  myself  than  I  am  my  readers. 
It  does,  however,  show  that  important  political  results  sometimes 
flow  from  very  trivial  affairs;  and  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
frankly  state  that  no  event  in  the  entire  fifty  years  of  the  political 
history  of  Minnesota  has  been  fraught  with  as  momentous  con- 
sequences to  the  Republican  party,  to  the  state,  and  to  the  per- 
sons in  immediate  interest  as  was  the  petty  little  pension  agency 
matter. 

Senator  Davis  might  at  some  time,  and  undoubtedly  would, 
have  gained  great  political  prominence,  but  his  absolute  begin- 


120  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

ning  was  due  much  more  to  the  desire  on  my  part  for  revenge 
on  somebody  else  than  love  for  him,  and  his  future  much 
depended  on  his  beginning  and  how  well  he  began. 

The  details  of  the  memorable  gubernatorial  contest,  as  well 
as  the  senatorial  contest  which  relegated  Senator  Ramsey  to 
private  life,  will  be  found  recorded  in  other  observations.  I  pre- 
fer to  concentrate  my  modesty  in  this  one  chapter,  and  conse- 
quently do  not  prolong  it,  and  feel  that  to  absolutely  forcibly 
present  it,  it  should  be  diagramed: 

CAUSE. 
The  loss  of  a  petty  government  office. 


EFFECT. 


Hon.   W.    D.   Washburn   lost  the   opportunity  of  his   life   to   be 
Governor  of  Minnesota. 

Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey  lost  the  opportunity  of  his  life  to  secure 
a  third  term  as  United  States  Senator. 

Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  found  the  opportunity  of  his  life  to  be,  con- 
secutively, Governor,  United  States  Senator,  and 
achieve  world-wide  fame. 


Little  rivulets  make  the  mighty  ocean — when  there  are  enough 
of  them. 


^A^ 


OBSERVATION  NINETEEN. 


How   I    Discovered  Hon.   C.   K.   Davis — The   Campaign   In- 
augurated for  Him  in  1873,  Which  Elected  Him  Governor. 


For  many  years  after  Governor  Davis'  rise  to  prominence, 
prominent  newspapers  in  the  state  would  give  me  the  credit  for 
having  discovered  him  and  brought  him  to  the  front.  This  was 
unquestionably  a  credit  to  which  I  was  entitled,  and  I  modestly 
admit  it.  At  the  same  time  it  is  only  just,  to  say  that  if  I  had 
not,  by  a  fortuitous  accident,  selected  an  able  man,  one  who 
would  in  every  way  fill  the  bill  as  a  politician  and  rising  states- 
man, the  movement  would  not  have  been  a  success.  But  I  pur- 
pose demonstrating  in  this  volume  the  absolute  fact  as  to  what 
I  did,  and  do  it  so  completely  and  forcibly  that  neither  this  nor 
any  future  generation  will  ever  dispute  it. 

With  this  idea  in  mind  I  give  somewhat  in  detail  the  way 
the  afTair  was  managed,  and  many  extracts  from  my  paper.  The 
Dispatch,  showing  the  persistency  with  which  I  pressed  Gov- 
ernor Davis  to  the  front. 

Governor  Davis  was  elected  as  a  representative  to  the  legis- 
lature from  St.  Paul  in  1866.  He  had  also  written  and  deliv- 
ered many  times  his  famous  lecture,  "Modern  Feudalism,"  which 
was  an  argument  in  favor  of  placing  railroads  under  legislative 
control.  And,  by  the  way,  this  doctrine  origfinated  in  the  courts 
of  Minnesota.  The  citizens  of  Rochester,  Minn.,  through  Mr. 
Blake,  one  of  their  merchants,  brought  suit  against  the  Winona 
&  St.  Peter  Railroad  to  regulate  rates.  Colonel  W.  P.  Clough, 
a  young  attorney  at  Rochester,  took  charge  of  the  suit,  and, 
after  years  of  work  won  his  contention  in  the  supreme  court  at 
Washington.  The  interstate  commerce  and  other  national  and 
state  legislation  followed.     Colonel  Clough  was  only  given  a 

(121) 


122  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

pittance  for  his  great  work,  as  it  was  raised  from  the  people  in 
town  meeting  style.  He  removed  to  St.  Paul  before  the  liti- 
gation ended,  and  after  he  had  won  was  selected  as  attorney 
for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  at  a  handsome  salary.  He 
left  that  place  to  accept  a  higher  salary  as  attorney  for  and  second 
vice  president  of  the  Great  Northern  road.  He  is  now  a  resident 
of  New  York  City  and  vice  president  of  the  Northern  Securities 
Company.  Evidently,  Colonel  Clough  is  too  valuable  a  man 
to  have  lying  around  loose. 

I  might  allude  in  passing  to  an  incident  which  really  had  no 
especial  bearing  on  what  I  did  at  the  time  of  presenting  Mr. 
Davis  for  the  consideration  of  the  young  RepubHcans.  In  the 
winter  of  1872-73  Hon.  George  P.  Wilson,  afterwards  attorney 
general,  was  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He  was  chairman  of 
the  judiciary  committee,  and,  among  other  things,  made  a  very 
able  report  on  the  "Color  of  Title"  bill.  When  he  had  com- 
pleted presenting  it  before  the  legislature  and  retired  to  the 
lobby,  Penock  Pusey,  a  gentleman  who  had  occupied  positions 
of  prominence  at  the  state  capitol,  though  of  a  subordinate  char- 
acter, was  standing  there,  and  said  to  Mr.  Wilson,  "We  will  have 
to  make  you  attorney  general  of  the  state."  That  little  remark 
in  reality  bore  a  good  deal  of  fruit.  .  Later  in  the  session  there 
was  a  conference  between  C.  K.  Davis,  George  P.  Wilson  and 
Alphonso  Barto  of  Sauk  Center,  at  which  it  was  suggested  and 
agreed  among  the  three  that  Davis  should  become  a  candidate 
for  governor,  Barto  for  lieutenant  governor  and  Mr.  Wilson  a 
candidate  for  attorney  general. 

Mr.  Wilson  had  been  a  schoolmate  of  mine  in  the  East  prior 
to  either  one  of  us  coming  to  Minnesota,  and  our  relations  were 
very  close  and  friendly.  The  result  of  that  conference  was  that 
Wilson  was  delegated  by  the  other  gentlemen  who  were  party 
to  it  to  come  and  see  me  as  a  precautionary  measure  and  advise 
me  of  the  program.  I  am  free  to  say  that  the  fact  of  that  confer- 
ence and  the  advice  had  passed  from  my  mind  entirely  when  I 
began  the  Davis  boom,  but  being  friendly  to  all  the  parties  in 
interest  I  was  nothing  loth  to  aid  in  carrying  it  out,  and  the  plan 
was  literally  executed.  Davis  became  governor,  Barto  lieuten- 
ant governor  and  Wilson  attorney  general. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  123 

Perhaps  if  the  slate  had  been  absolutely  known,  it  would 
have  been  smashed,  but  it  was  not,  and  with  the  success  of  Davis 
it  was  not  very  difficult  to  carry  Barto  and  Wilson  through  on 
the  same  boom. 

With  this  explanation  the  story  of  the  beginning  of  the  Davis 
boom  and  its  being  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion  becomes 
a  matter  of  historical  fact,  as  well  as  of  general  interest  to  the 
public. 

In  1873  there  was  a  campaign  for  state  offices  and  inci- 
dentally for  the  United  States  senator,  who  was  to  be  elected 
in  the  winter  of  1875.  Horace  Austin  was  serving  his  second 
term  as  governor,  and  Alexander  Ramsey  his  second  term  as 
United  States  senator.  Both  were  considered  candidates  to  suc- 
ceed themselves.  Austin  disclaimed  this,  but  his  name  was  voted 
on  in  the  convention.  He  had  never  really  affiliated  with  the  Ram- 
sey wing  in  politics  and  the  Ramsey  men  cast  about  for  someone 
else  upon  whom  they  could  rely  to  succeed  him.  W.  D.  W^ash- 
burn,  of  Minneapolis,  was  agreed  upon,  and  while  he  desired  the 
office  for  himself  rather  than  as  a  stool  pigeon  for  Ramsey,  he 
was  nevertheless  allied  with  the  senator's  supporters,  and  the  two 
campaigns  of  Washburn  and  Ramsey  were  thus  blended.  This 
left  Austin  on  his  own  mettle  and,  to  add  to  the  complications, 
Thomas  H.  Armstrong  of  Albert  Lea  was  also  an  aspirant  for 
governor.     That  was  the  situation  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 

1873. 

I  was  publishing  the  St.  Paul  Dispatch  at  the  time,  as  an  inde- 
pendent newspaper,  and  not  at  all  averse  to  making  mischief  and 
smashing  slates.  I  readily  saw  that  Washburn  was  the  strong 
candidate  for  governor  and  would  win  against  the  candidates 
then  in  the  field,  which  would  mean  the  election  of  Ramsey  for 
six  years  more.  Here  was  a  double-headed  opportunity  to  smash 
•something,  which  I  could  not  resist.  No  one  was  consulted  or 
even  any  formal  plan  outlined  in  my  own  mind.  C.  K.  Davis 
was  United  States  district  attorney  and  recognized  as  an  able 
young  man.  He  had  been  delivering  his  lecture  on  "Modern 
Feudalism"  about  the  state,  winning  a  good  deal  of  reputation, 
and  he  appeared  to  me  to  be  the  most  available  candidate  to  turn 
the  politics  of  the  state  topsy  turvey.     The  first  allusion  I  made 


124  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

to  Davis  in  the  matter  was  merely  incidental.  On  the  3rd  of 
March,  1873,  an  editorial  appeared  in  the  Dispatch  headed  "Can- 
didates for  State  Offices."  It  named  all  the  known  Republican 
candidates  and  incidentally  said  this : 

C.  K.  Davis  (Modern  Feudalism)  of  St  Paul  is  also  an  aspirant, 
not  so  much  with  the  expectation  of  getting  the  nomination  this  year,  as 
with  the  idea  of  being  in  training  for  the  future,  and  also  to  aflford  an 
opportunity  for  a  compromise  candidate  in  case  the  triangular  Austin- 
Washburn-Armstrong  fight  should  become  too  hot. 

It  was  early  in  the  campaign  and  there  was  really  no  occasion 
for  much  comment.  The  Dispatch  did  not  again  allude  to  Davis 
until  April  19th.  The  initial  article  was  then  printed  which  bore 
the  fruit  of  Senator  Davis'  political  future.  I  offset  the  double- 
headed  campaign  of  Washburn  and  Ramsey  by  presenting  Davis 
at  one  fell  swoop  as  a  candidate  for  governor  and  senator,  and 
I  believe  that  plump  proposition  had  much  to  do  with  securing 
the  first  step — the  governorship.  Here  is  the  original  article 
nominating  Davis,  and  it  might  be  marked  for  future  reference 
"Exhibit  I.  B."  (initial  boom). 

[St.  Paul  Dispatch,  April  19,  1873.] 

ANOTHER  RICHMOND. 

For  years  immemorial  (almost)  a  set  of  old  fogies  have  been  man- 
aging the  Republican  party  in  this  state.  No  one  outside  the  sacred 
circle  of  the  charmed  ring  is  allowed  to  rise  or  receive  any  consideration 
whatever,  and  the  young  men  in  the  party  are  held  down  or  kept  in  the 
background,  lest  they  might  supplant  the  venerable  relics  of  the  past  in 
the  affections  of  the  people. 

This  thraldom  has  become  so  grievous  that  a  coterie  of  young  and 
brilliant  members  of  the  party  have  resolved  to  at  least  endeavor  to 
break  the  chains  that  bind  them.  The  program  has,  as  yet,  taken  no 
definite  shape,  but  the  more  prominent  ones  desire  to  center  upon 
Hon.  C.  K.  Davis,  of  this  city,  and  present  his  name  as  a  candidate  for 
governor.  He  has  not  positively  consented,  but  the  prospect  seems  to 
be  fair  that  during  the  blooming  month  of  May  he  may  blossom  out 
as  a  full  grown  candidate.  In  case  this  should  be  successful,  the  young 
and  vigorous  element  in  the  party  will  then  push  Mr.  Davis  for  the 
senatorial  chair  in  order  to  give  more  of  their  number  chance  of  pro- 
motion. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  125 

To  what  extent  the  revolt  will  be  carried,  or  how  successful  it  will 
prove,  are  problems  for  the  future  to  solve,  but  the  moss-covered  fossils 
are  alarmed,  and  it  is  among  the  possibilities  that -they  may  endeavor 
to  appease  the  impending  storm  by  taking  Mr.  Davis  up  themselves,  on 
condition  that  he  will  not  stand  in  Ramsey's  way  for  the  senate.  This 
would  be  a  shrewd  movement,  that  would  be  likely  to  win,  though  such 
discretion  on  the  part  of  the  treasury  leeches  would  be  remarkable. 

There  was  in  the  mild  suggestion  that  the  Ramsey  men  had 
better  drop  Washburn  and  join  hands  with  Davis  a  mere  political 
pointer,  but  I  was  too  much  a  political  outlaw  to  have  my  sug- 
gestion heeded  by  the  Ramsey  crowd  even  if  they  knew  it  to  be 
good — as  they  certainly  did  afterwards. 

Mr.  Davis  was  at  Brainerd,  Minn.,  when  this  article  appeared, 
engaged  with  the  late  S.  M.  Flint  of  St.  Paul  in  trying  a  murder 
case.  Mr.  Flint  told  me  on  his  return  that  when  the  paper 
reached  Brainerd,  Davis  was  dumfounded,  and  his  first  impulse 
was  to  telegraph  me  very  positively  that  he  would  not  be  a  can- 
didate. Flint  dissuaded  him  from  doing  this  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  not  responsible  for  the  utterances  of  the  Dispatch.  I  have 
no  doubt  he  regarded  the  prospect  as  hopeless  and  only  inclined 
to  weaken  his  hold  on  the  United  States  district  attorneyship, 
which  Ramsey  could  control.  The  murder  trial  was  quite  pro- 
tracted, but  Davis  was  sufficiently  exercised  to  come  down  the 
next  Sunday  to  look  into  the  matter.  At  that  time  there  was 
no  railroad  direct  from  St.  Paul  to  Brainerd,  and  the  journey  had 
to  be  made  via  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  to  Carleton  Junction  and 
thence  via  the  Northern  Pacific  road  to  Brainerd.  Whatever 
determination  to  decline  Davis  may  have  started  with,  when  he 
had  taken  his  long  ride  and  met  friends  in  St.  Paul  he  concluded 
to  return  in  silence.  I  am  not  sure  that  I  even  met  him — at  all 
events,  there  was  no  consultation  or  plan  talked  or  thought  of 
between  us.  The  Dispatch  simply  fired  away  and  allowed  results 
to  take  care  of  themselves.  It  was  not  until  April  30th,  1 1  days 
later,  after  the  "initial  boom,"  that  the  trial  ended,  and  Davis 
came  home  to  remain.  By  noting  dates  the  reader  can  trace  the 
progress  of  his  boom  before  his  return,  which  is  significant  as 
showing  he  was  not  at  that  time  a  party  to  it. 

The  Dispatch  of  April  226.  contained  this  editorial  para- 
graph : 


126  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  third  term  fellows  are  both  alarmed  and  excited  by  the  pro- 
spective gubernatorial  candidacy  of  the  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis.  *  *  *  The 
young  Republicans  argue  that  they  will  have  no  geographical  trouble, 
for  if  they  succeed  in  making  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  governor  they  will  then 
make  him  senator,  and  the  gubernatorial  chair  will  then  go  outside  of 
St.  Paul. 

In  order  to  relieve  Davis  of  any  responsibility  and  at  the  same 
time  give  him  the  opportunity  to  enter  the  race  gracefully,  the 
following  paragraph  appeared  in  the  Dispatch  April  23d : 

The  movement  of  the  young  Republicans,  with  the  Hon.  C.  K.  Davia 
at  their  head,  is  becoming  more  and  more  formidable,  and  the  young 
Republicans  find  words  of  cheer  coming  from  unexpected  quarters.  Mr. 
Davis  is  now  absent  from  the  city  upon  professional  business,  but  upon 
his  return  it  is  confidently  predicted  he  will  enter  the  lists  as  a  guber- 
natorial candidate.    The  situation  grows  interesting. 

Not  being  at  all  sure  that  my  candidate  would  stick,  I  hedged 
a  little  with  this  paragraph  on  April  24th : 

When  the  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  returns  a  strong  effort  will  be  made 
to  induce  him  to  decline,  but  the  young  Republicans  are  so  much  in- 
earnest  that  it  is  not  believed  he  will  desert  them. 

Here  was  a  bracer  which  the  Dispatch  gave  him  on  April 
26th: 

From  all  parts  of  the  state  we  hear  commendations  of  the  young 
Republican  movement  and  the  gubernatorial  candidacy  of  Hon.  C.  K. 
Davis.  There  is  no  question  but  the  feeling  is  widespread  against  the 
fossil  managers  of  the  Republican  party  in  Minnesota.  They  gobble  all 
the  fat,  and  use  the  young  Republicans  to  keep  them  in  office.  The 
candidacy  of  the  brilliant  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  means  a  new  deal  alt 
around. 

Davis  returned  on  the  evening  of  April  30th,  and  this  was  the 
welcome  the  Dispatch  supplied  him  that  day,  though  his  coming 
was  unheralded: 

The  flames  which  light  up  the  hills  these  beautiful  evenings  are  the 
watchfires  on  the  tower  of  Zion  which  are  lighting  the  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis 
in  a  blaze  of  glory  on  his  pathway  to  the  gubernatorial  and  senatorial 
chairs.  Let  the  young  Republicans  rally  and  send  the  old  fogies  to« 
eternal  smash. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  127 

On  May  ist,  the  first  day  after  his  return,  the  Dispatch  gave 
him  encouragement  in  these  words : 

The  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  has  the  gubernatorial  game  in  his  own  hands. 
Rarely  has  the  candidacy  of  a  man  been  received  with  such  favor.  The 
young  Republicans  call;  he  must  obey. 

What  I  have  quoted  thus  far  has  been  from  the  editorial  utter- 
ances of  the  Dispatch,  but  that  was  not  all.  The  "L  B."  had 
begun  to  work  in  the  country  and  every  day  I  quoted  comments 
of  state  papers,  printing  approvals  and  disapprovals  as  well.  The 
recognition  that  it  was  a  Dispatch  movement  was  borne  out  by 
these  comments.  In  the  Dispatch  of  April  25th  the  following  quo- 
tations appeared: 

Lake  City  Sentinel— The  Dispatch  announces  C.  K.  Davis  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  future  gubernatorial  honors,  supported  by  the  young 
Republicans,  who  are  about  to  revolt  from  the  old  leadership. 

Owatonna  Journal— The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  intimates  that  an  effort 
is  being  made  to  bring  C.  K.  Davis  into  the  field  as  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  governor, 

Minneapolis  Times— The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  announces  that  the  young 
Republicans  of  that  city  have  determined  upon  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  as  a 
candidate  for  governor.  *  *  *  It  is  no  use.  Washburn  is  the  com- 
ing man,  and  the  sooner  the  "young  Republicans"  make  up  their  minds 
to  submit,  the  sooner  they  will  be  happy. 

On  April  26th  this  was  reproduced  in  the  Dispatch : 

Litchfield  News  Ledger — Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  of  St.  Paul  is  spoken 
of  as  a  candidate  for  governor.  There  are  lots  of  folks  who  could  vote 
for  "Cush"  with  a  hearty  unction. 

In  order  to  keep  on  a  full  head  of  steam  the  Dispatch  of  April 
29th  contained  these  quoted  comments: 

Minneapolis  News — The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  is  making  a  feeble  effort 
to  imitate  the  New  York  Herald  in  a  small  way  by  proposing  and  advo- 
cating various  candidates  for  official  honors.  The  Dispatch  is  trying  to 
get  up  a  reputation  for  journalistic  "enterprise"  by  pursuing  the  same 
policy  in  regard  to  our  state  politics.  Just  now  it  is  presenting  the 
claims  of  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Republican  nomination 
for  governor,  putting  him  forward  as  the  representative  of  the  "young 
Republicans,"  whatever  that  may  mean. 


128  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Rochester  Post— Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  of  St.  Paul  is  said  by  the  Dis- 
patch to  be  a  candidate  for  governor.  He  is  the  most  brilliant  intellect 
in  the  Republican  party  of  the  state,  and  would  honor  any  position  he 
would  accept,  but  there  is  nothing  decisive  about  a  Republican  nomina- 
tion made  by  the  Dispatch. 

Le  Sueur  Sentinel — The  Dispatch  of  St.  Paul  has  started  consider- 
able of  a  movement  in  favor  of  Cush.  K.  Davis  for  governor,  and  though 
we  suspect  that  the  Dispatch  influence  in  this  instance  will  not  greatly 
exceed  its  influence  two  years  ago  in  favor  of  "the  man  with  hayseed 
in  his  hair,"  it  may  succeed  in  exciting  Davis'  ambition  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  cause  something  of  a  row  in  the  Republican  camp. 

What  I  have  quoted  thus  far  shows  the  persistence  rather 
tban  the  method  with  which  the  boom  was  worked;  the  quick 
response  to  the  suggestion  and  the  general  and  irrefutable 
acknowledgment  that  the  entire  affair  originated  in  the  Dispatch 
and  had  no  other  support  at  the  outset.  Mr.  Davis  was  not  in 
the  city.  I  Lad  not  exchanged  a  word  with  him  in  advance  on 
the  subject,  and  he  was  as  much  astonished  as  Washburn  and 
Ramsey  to  see  the  work  of  the  Dispatch.  With  the  exception 
of  the  item  of  May  ist,  all  that  has  been  quoted  above  appeared 
before.  Mr.  Davis'  return,  and,  in  addition,  he  found  numerous 
letters  awaiting  him  urging  him  to  be  a  candidate.  And  then  he 
began  to  seriously  think  it  would  be  good  politics  to  accept  the 
situation.     And  he  did. 

Possibly  some  would  suppose  that  when  Davis  formally  took 
the  field  he  would  have  done  so  through  the  Dispatch.  The  fact 
wa3  I  only  had  a  moderate  personal  acquaintance  with  Davis,  and 
he  was  evidently  afraid  that  his  recognition  of  an  independent 
paper  would  injure  his  party  standing.  No  interview  or  author- 
ized original  statement  from  Davis  on  the  subject  of  his  candi- 
dacy appeared  in  the  Dispatch  uuring  the  entire  campaign.  The 
St.  Paul  Press  was  so  bound  up  in  Ramsey  that  he  could  not  have 
a  hearing  there,  and  he  accordingly  selected  the  Winona  Repub- 
lican in  which  to  make  his  official  announcement.  That  paper 
had  not  even  printed  his  name  as  a  candidate,  but  on  May  9,  1873, 
the  following  appeared  in  its  columns,  which,  for  convenience, 
can  be  marked  "Exhibit  D.  O.  B."  (Davis'  Own  Boom) : 

Winona  Republican,  May  9,  1873 — In  presenting  a  list  of  the  various 
candidates  for  the  Republican  nomination  for  governor  the  other  day  we 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  129 

omitted  the  name  of  C.  K.  Davis,  Esq.,  of  St.  Paul,  upon  the  strength 
of  information  which  led  us  to  believe  that  he  did  not  seek  the  nomina- 
tion, and  that  the  use  of  his  name  in  that  connection  was  made  without 
his  authority.  We  now  learn,  however,  in  a  very  direct  manner,  that 
Mr,  Davis  does  desire  to  be  considered  a  candidate,  and  that  he  form- 
ally places  himself  before  the  public  in  that  attitude. 

Mr.  Davis  had  written  a  personal  letter  to  Mr.  Sinclair,  editor 
of  the  Republican,  telling  him  he  had  decided  to  be  a  candidate 
for  governor.  He  had  written  Sinclair  because  he  was  afraid  to 
recognize  me  as  his  supporter.  But  at  that  time  I  was  after 
larger  game  than  C.  K.  Davis  and  to  me  he  was  only  a  means 
to  an  end. 

The  Winona  Republican  was  entirely  correct  in  its  informa- 
tion "that  the  use  of  his  (Davis')  name  in  that  connection  was 
made  without  his  authority."  He  certainly  never  authorized  me 
to  use  it.  And  still  it  seemed  to  have  been  used  prior  to  the 
article  of  May  9th. 

One  plan  I  had  of  attracting  attention  to  the  matter  was  to 
print  all  the  adverse  comments  I  could  find,  the  more  personal 
they  were  to  the  Dispatch  the  better.  On  the  5th  of  May  the 
Dispatch  quoted  this  from  the  Blue  Earth  City  Post : 

"The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  is  trying  to  get  up  a  division  over  C. 
K.  Davis,  but  it  won't  amount  to  much." 

On  the  9th  day  of  May,  1873,  the  same  date  the  authoritative 
announcement  was  printed  in  Winona,  the  Dispatch  contained  a 
broadside  on  Davis,  for  and  against.  I  quote  some  of  the  latter, 
the  headline  in  every  case  being  the  one  I  made: 

SOUND   ADVICE   FOR    C.    K.    DAVIS. 

(Willmar  Republican.) 

If  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  has  any  real  idea  of  running  for  governor,  the 
first  hard  work  he  ought  to  do  is  to  get  the  Dispatch  to  cease  support- 
ing him.     He  couldn't  otherwise  win. 

"poisoned  eulogiums"  oe  the  dispatch. 
(Waseca  News.) 

What  horrid  crime  has  the  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis  committed  that  he 
should  be  pursued  with  the  poisoned  eulogiums  of  the  bastard  St.  Paul 
Dispatch. 

9 


130  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

THE  MEDDI^ING  DISPATCH   VERY   PROPERI.Y  REBUKED. 

(Minneapolis  News.) 

We  cannot  exactly  understand  on  what  principle  the  St.  Paul  Dis- 
patch is  attempting  to  meddle,  dictate  or  advise  in  regard  to  the  Repub- 
lican nomination  next  fall.  The  editor  of  that  paper  last  fall  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Cincinnati  convention,  and  formally  took  himself  out  of  the 
Republican  party.  We  now,  however,  find  him  mixing  as  heartily  in 
the  discussion  within  the  Republican  party  in  regard  to  its  candidates 
as  if  he  were  a  member  of  the  party  in  good  standing.  The  Dispatch 
can  have,  legitimately,  no  more  to  say  about  the  Republican  nomination 
than  Capt.  Jack  of  the  Modocs  can  have  to  say  about  the  arrangement 
of  the  campaign  against  him.  If  the  Dispatch  comes  into  our  camp  it 
comes  as  an  enemy. 

A   LIVELY   STIR  AMONG  THE  REPUBLICAN   MONKEY'S. 

(Le  Sueur  Sentinel.) 

The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  may  not  have  the  prescience  to  name  the 
candidate  who  will  receive  the  nomination  for  governor  at  the  next 
Republican  state  convention,  but  it  has  sufficient  influence  to  make  a 
lively  stir  among  the  Republican  monkeys. 

These  extracts  show  that  both  friends  and  foes  attributed  the 
whole  movement  to  the  Dispatch,  and  also  explain  why  Davis, 
while  he  appreciated  the  work  of  the  paper,  as  he  had  not  sought 
or  asked  its  support,  feared  to  be  too  closely  identified  with  it, 
lest  his  Republicanism  be  questioned.  As  a  matter  of  fact  while  all 
this  comment  was  going  on  Davis  was  almost  afraid  to  be  seen 
talking  with  me  in  public  lest  his  party  loyalty  should  be  ques- 
tioned. This  is  politics.  Just  about  the  date  of  his  official 
announcement  in  Winona  he  dropped  into  my  office  one  morning 
and  said,  "Hall,  don't  you  think  you  had  better  treat  this  matter 
a  little  more  seriously.  I  can  hardly  understand  you  myself." 
I  assured  him  that  that  was  the  beauty  of  the  campaign,  that  no 
one  else  understood  it  either  but  it  could  not  harm  him  to  let  the 
molasses  run.  I  do  not  recall  any  other  suggestion  coming 
from  him  during  the  entire  contest.     It  was  a  "go  as  you  please." 

The  allusion  of  the  Le  Sueur  Sentinel,  in  quotation  given 
above,  to  "the  man  with  the  hayseed  in  his  hair,"  referred  to  a 
campaign  I  had  run  two  years  previous,  advising  the  Democrats 
to  nominate  Amos  Coggswell  of  Owatonna    for  governor.     It 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  131 

did  not  result  as  the  Sentinel  slurringly  indicated.  The  Dispatch 
made  Coggswell  known  far  and  near  as  "the  man  with  hayseed 
in  his  hair,"  and  the  Democratic  convention  took  the  advice 
and  nominated  him.  He  positively  declined,  but  the  triumph  of 
the  independent  newspaper  was  just  as  marked.  To  success- 
fully conduct  the  campaigns  for  nominations  of  two  hostile 
parties  is  something  of  an  achievement.  That  is  what  the  Dis- 
patch did,  at  that  time,  within  the  space  of  two  years. 

THE   CONVENTION  WHICH   DID  THE  WORK. 

The  Republican  state  convention  to  nominate  candidates  for 
state  offices  in  1873  met  in  St.  Paul  on  July  i6th.  All  interest 
centered  in  the  nomination  for  governor.  The  selection  of  the 
next  United  States  senator  was  considered  to  largely  depend 
upon  the  gubernatorial  result.  Prior  to  C.  K.  Davis  entering 
the  lists,  the  general  feeling  was  that  W.  D.  Washburn  had  a 
walkover.  Davis'  candidacy  haa  at  least  modified  this  sentiment, 
for,  while  the  Washburn  men  were  very  confident,  even  on  the 
day  of  the  convention,  they  admitted  misgivings  and  feared  that 
something  untoward  might  happen.  They  could  not  really 
believe  that  the  young  Republicans  would  come  to  the  front,  but 
would  have  felt  better  if  they  had  not  appeared  with  a  candidate. 
The  Davis  forces  were  hopeful  rather  than  confident.  The  Dis- 
patch of  that  date,  which  was  issued  before  the  convention  had 
nominated,  showed  this  by  printing  the  following  editorial  para- 
graph: 

Whatever  the  result  of  the  convention  to-day,  the  coming  man  in 
Minnesota  politics  bears  the  initials  of  Cushman  K.  Davis. 

It  proved  to  be  a  case  of  politicians  proposing  and  the  con- 
vention disposing. 

The  convention  met  in  the  old  Grand  Opera  House,  and  the 
usual  contest  for  chairman  occurred.  W.  H.  Yale  of  Winona 
was  nominatea  as  the  Washburn  representative  by  D.  M.  Sabin, 
and  J.  Q.  Farmer  of  Fillmore  county  was  presented  by  the  anti- 
Washburn  element.  The  result  showed  Yale  166,  Farmer  138. 
This  carried  great  joy  to  the  Washburn  camp.    The  Washburn 


132  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

men  felt  that  they  had  a  complete  and  easy  victory  and  their  final 
defeat  was  in  part  due  to  relaxing  their  efforts,  owing  to  over 
confidence.  The  Davis  forces  presented  a  bold  front,  but  it  was 
evident  that  the  loss  of  the  chairman  had  a  depressing  effect. 

After  the  usual  preliminaries,  which  were  quite  long,  the  con- 
vention, at  the  afternoon  session,  reached  the  naming  of  candi- 
dates. Gen.  L.  F.  Hubbard  took  the  floor  and  read  a  letter  from 
Governor  Austin,  which  was  in  part  as  follows : 

I  have  not  been  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  there  is  not  a  dele- 
gate that  is  here  at  my  instance.  I  desire  that  the  controversy  be  con- 
fined to  the  three  candidates  aspiring  to  the  office,  and  that  I  may  not 
be  antagonized  with  them. 

Following  this,  the  late  F.  R.  E.  Cornell  of  Minneapolis  pre- 
sented Washburn's  name,  Governor  Marshall  of  St.  Paul  naming 
Davis,  and  C.  T.  Benedict  of  Olmsted  county  made  a  speech  in 
behalf  of  Thomas  H.  Armstrong  of  Albert  Lea.  At  the  close  a 
delegate  arose  and  nominated  Governor  Austin  in  spite  of  his 
letter.  This  was  in  reality  to  give  some  delegates  a  chance  to 
have  a  candidate  on  the  side,  until  they  saw  how  the  two  leaders, 
Davis  and  Washburn,  stood.  Balloting  was  then  ordered,  with 
R.  B.  Langdon,  John  B.  Sanborn  and  T.  G.  Jonsrud  as  tellers. 

On  the  informal  ballot  306  votes  were  cast,  Washburn  having 
119,  Davis  "jy,  Austin  yj,  and  Armstrong  33.  The  first  formal 
ballot  showed  305  votes,  Washburn  having  128,  Davis  78,  Austin 
68  and  Armstrong  30.  The  next  ballot  every  member  of  the 
convention,  308,  voted,  and  it  was  the  only  ballot  where  every 
vote  was  cast.  Washburn  had  144,  Davis  106,  Austin  26  and 
Armstrong  32. 

The  day  was  warm  and  the  excitement  intense  as  the  conven- 
tion proceeded.  Half  the  delegates  stripped  off  their  coats  and 
log-rolling  wa«^  decidedly  animated.  The  third  formal  ballot  was 
startling  in  its  clearness,  standing  Washburn  153,  Davis  149, 
Austin  I,  scattering  4.  The  fourth  was  the  final  and  decisive 
ballot.  There  were  307  votes  cast.  Necessary  to  choice,  154. 
Davis  had  155  and  Washburn  152.  Before  the  chair  could 
announce  the  result  a  wrangle  ensued  led  by  Charley  Clarke  of 
Minneapolis,  and  participated  in  by  Maj.  Geo.  A.  Camp.     Clarke 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  133 

claimed  that  there  were  only  304  delegates  and  that  there  had 
been  too  many  votes  cast.  General  Sanborn  contended  that  Davis 
had  a  majority,  whether  there  were  304  or  308,  and  Clarke,  being 
assured  by  the  secretaries  counting  the  report  of  the  credentials 
committee  and  finding  308  and  being  satisfied  that,  besides,  there 
had  already  been  308  votes  cast  on  a  previous  ballot,  Major  Camp 
moved  to  make  Davis'  nomination  unanimous.  The  ballot  had 
been  challenged  once  before  and  the  secretaries  had  reported 
only  304  in  the  convention. 

The  triumph  of  the  young  Republicans  was  so  complete,  and 
in  a  sense  better  than  they  expected,  that  they  went  fairly  wild 
and  when  Davis  appeared  a  few  minutes  later  to  accept,  it  was 
many  minutes  before  the  applause  could  be  sufficiently  repressed 
to  allow  him  to  proceed.  The  Washburn  supporters  were  very 
sore  because  they  had  felt  sure  of  success.  Besides  they  were 
so  near  victory  on  the  third  ballot  that  defeat  was  especially  hard. 
It  was  a  great  surprise  and  the  fourth  ballot  changed  the  face  of 
Minnesota  politics  from  that  day  to  this.  A  story  was  circulated 
that  Major  Camp  had  found  a  Washburn  ballot  in  the  lining  of  his 
hat,  which  had  been  used  by  the  tellers  to  receive  the  ballots,  and 
there  was  talk  of  re-opening  the  contest,  but  a  moment's  thought 
showed  that  it  would  merely  have  brought  the  total  up  to  308, 
and  Davis  would  still  have  one  majority  over  Washburn. 

At  the  evening  session  A.  Barto  of  Sauk  Center  was  nomi- 
nated for  lieutenant  governor,  S.  P.  Jennison  of  Red  Wing  for 
secretary  of  state,  Mons  Grinager  of  Freeborn  for  treasurer  and 
Geo.  P.  Wilson  of  Winona  for  attorney  general. 

The  Democrats  nominated  Ara  Barton  of  Fairbault,  and  the 
vote  at  the  election  was  Davis  40,741,  Barton  35,245,  S.  Mayall, 
prohibition,  1,036.  Davis'  plurality  over  Barton  was  5,496  and 
his  majority  over  both  was  4,460.  This  was  far  below  the  normal 
Republican  majority  in  the  state  which  at  that  time  ranged  from 
twenty  to  thirty  thousand.  The  old  regime  could  not  forgive 
Davis  for  entering  the  race  and  there  was  the  fear  that  his  suc- 
cess for  governor  would  be  fatal  to  Ramsey  for  senator.  I  have 
always  beUeved  that  the  mossbacks  intended  to  defeat  him  out- 
right or  make  his  margin  so  small  that  he  would  come  into  their 
camp  to  protect  his  political  future. 


134  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  state  a  governor  was 
contented  with  one  term.  Governor  Davis  positively  refused  to 
be  a  candidate  again.  He  was  a  poor  man  and  his  position  at  the 
bar  gave  him  an  income  many  times  in  excess  of  the  governor's 
salary.  His  real  ambition  was  to  go  to  the  senate,  and  he  could 
not  well  make  that  fight  in  the  winter  of  1875,  and  in  the  summer, 
a  few  months  later,  ask  the  nomination  for  the  second  term  as 
governor.  He  accordingly  threw  his  lance  into  the  senatorial 
target,  while  serving  the  second  year  of  his  first  and  only  term  as 
governor.  His  lance  was  shivered  in  that  onset  but  Ramsey  was 
defeated  as  well,  and  twelve  years  later  Davis  reached  the  sena- 
torial goal. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY 


The  Attempt  to  Re-elect  Alexander  Ramsey  to  the  Senate  for 

a  Third  Term. 


The  senatorial  election  in  Minnesota  in  1875  was  the  sequel 
of  the  candidacy  and  election  of  C.  K.  Davis  to  the  position  of 
governor  in  1873.  The  statement  made  by  the  Dispatch  in  1873 
that  Davis  was  a  dual  candidate  for  governor  and  senator  proved 
a  very  literal  fact,  as  Senator  Ramsey  and  his  friends  subsequently 
learned.  As  the  time  for  the  senatorial  contest  approached  four 
candidates  were  developed,  to-wit:  Senator  Ramsey,  candidate 
for  a  third  term  ;  Governor  Davis,  ex-Governor  Austin  and  W.  D. 
Washburn.  There  were  83  Republicans  in  the  legislature,  and  the 
Ramsey  forces  thought  they  had  42  secured,  which  was  just 
enough,  and  no  more,  to  give  Ramsey  the  nomination.  The 
Davis  men  claimed  to  have  29  positively  pledged,  and  the 
remainder  were  supposed  to  be  divided  between  Washburn  and 
Austin. 

The  Republican  caucus  was  called  to  be  held  in  the  senate 
chamber  at  the  capitol  on  the  evening  of  Jan.  14,  1875.  I  was 
exercising  a  sort  of  guardian  angel  care  over  the  Republican 
party  at  that  time,  and  vehemently  advised  the  Davis  forces, 
through  the  columns  of  the  independent  Dispatch,  not  to  enter 
the  caucus.  They  were  told  that  Ramsey  men  were  sent  to  them 
to  pledge  themselves  to  Davis,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the 
Davis  forces  into  the  caucus  on  a  false  assumption  of  strength, 
and  that  the  one  way  to  avoid  defeat,  or  being  stigmatized  as 
bolters,  was  to  go  into  the  open  legislature  and  vote,  instead  of 
trusting  their  fortunes  to  the  tricks  of  the  caucus.  Good 
advice  is  often  rejected,  and  this  was  one   of  the   cases,   as   the 

(135) 


136  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Davis  men  afterwards  learned  to  their  sorrow.  The  Davis  men 
decided  that  they  would  avoid  being  tricked  by  demanding  a 
viva  voce  vote  in  the  caucus,  thus  making  the  29  pledged  men 
go  on  record,  either  as  true  or  false  to  their  promises.  The 
Ramsey  forces  were  in  high  glee  when  they  found  the  Davis 
forces  would  come  into  the  caucus,  and  while  it  did  not  work 
just  as  they  expected,  by  nominating  Ramsey,  it  took  12  years 
out  of  the  political  life  of  C.  K.  Davis  and  by  just  so  much  time 
delayed  his  reaching  the  senate. 

The  eventful  caucus  night  came  and  every  Republican  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature  appeared.  All  of  the  candidates  were  on 
hand  to  advise  with  their  supporters.  Governor  Davis  occupied  his 
executive  office ;  Senator  Ramsey  was  in  the  state  auditor's  office ; 
ex-Governor  Austin  was  in  the  insurance  commissioner's  room, 
and  Mr.  Washburn  made  his  headquarters  in  the  railroad  com- 
missioners office.  The  respective  headquarters  were  thronged 
with  friends  of  each  of  the  candidates  and  the  corridors  were 
packed  with  interested  spectators.  The  caucus  assembled  in 
the  senate  chamber,  with  closed  doors.  J.  W.  Furber  of  Wash- 
ington county  was  chosen  chairman,  C.  B.  Bosworth  of  Goodhue 
and  W.  R.  Kenyon  of  Steele  were  elected  clerks  with  Milo 
White  (Ramsey)  of  Olmsted,  Charles  H.  Clarke  (Washburn) 
of  Hennepin,  C.  W.  Crosby  (Davis)  of  Rock,  and  S.  N.  Tread- 
well  (Austin)  of  Nicollet  were  tellers.  Every  candidate  had 
to  have  a  teller,  for  in  a  real  nice  caucus  the  tellers  determine 
who  gets  the  nomination,  instead  of  the  men  who  cast  the 
votes.  On  this  occasion,  in  order  to  be  entirely  fair,  a  trans- 
parent glass  ballot  box  had  been  secured  besides. 

As  soon  as  the  organization  was  completed.  Senator  E.  F. 
Drake  of  St.  Paul  sprung  the  Ramsey  scheme.  He  offered  reso- 
lutions providing;  First,  that  the  voting  for  the  nomination 
should  be  by  secret  ballot ;  second,  that  there  should  be  five  bal- 
lots, unless  a  nomination  was  sooner  reached,  before  the  chair 
should  entertain  a  motion  to  adjourn,  though  motions  to  adjourn, 
under  parliamentary  rules,  are  always  in  order;  third,  that  the 
vote  on  the  motion  to  adjourn  should  be  viva  voce  by  yea  and  nay 
roll  call. 

"Wasn't  that  a  dainty  dish  to  set  before  a  king?" 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  137 

I  call  the  scheme  clever  politics.  By  having  a  secret  ballot 
for  the  nomination,  men  who  had  promised  Davis  could  vote  for 
Ramsey  and  not  be  detected.  And  then  if  the  Davis  men  should 
want  to  adjourn,  while  the  Ramsey  men  did  not,  there  would  be 
plenty  of  grounds  for  differences  of  opinion  on  that  point  to 
excuse  the  bogus  Davis  supporters  for  voting  against  adjourn- 
ment, while  the  Ramsey  men,  by  the  roll  call  on  adjourn- 
ment, would  have  a  chance  to  spot  every  one  of  their  pledges. 
The  resolutions  or  rules  offered  by  Mr.  Drake  were  debated  and 
the  Davis  men  were  very  strenuous  in  opposing  a  secret  ballot, 
some  even  going  so  far  as  to  declare  they  would  not  remain  if 
the  ballot  was  not  viva  voce.  In  spite  of  this  loud  talk  the  reso- 
lutions finally  prevailed  and  the  Davis  men  had,  in  real  life, 
accepted  the  invitation: 

''Will  you  walk  into  my  parlor,  said  the  spider  to  the  fly, 
*Tis  the  prettiest  little  parlor  that  ever  you  did  spy." 

The  Ramsey  men,  having  played  their  big  hand  and  won, 
were  in  high  glee.  When  the  caucus  to  nominate  Ramsey  for 
the  second  term  was  held  six  years  previous,  they  would  not  per- 
mit an  informal  ballot,  but  this  time  there  was  greater  liberality 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  first  ballot  should  be  informal.  It 
resulted  in  giving  Ramsey  36,  Davis  21,  Washburn  15  and  Austin 
II.  Then  there  was  excitement  in  the  Davis  ranks.  His  vote 
was  eight  below  the  promised  schedule.  They  could  have  kept 
out  of  the  trap  by  staying  out  of  the  caucus,  but  they  didn't. 
So  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  proceed  to  the  first  formal  bal- 
lot. That  resulted:  Ramsey  36,  Davis  21,  Washburn  14,  Aus- 
tin 12. 

Then  there  was  the  usual  consultation  with  the  chieftains, 
between  ballots,  and  the  second  formal  ballot  was  given  out: 
Ramsey  38,  Davis   22,  Washburn   14,  Austin  9. 

It  was  evident  that  Austin  was  out  of  the  race,  as  his  vote  was 
disintegrating.  Ramsey's  gain  of  two  was  alarming.  He  only 
lacked  four  votes  of  a  nomination  and  Austin  still  had  nine  shots 
in  his  locker  to  go  somewhere.  The  third  formal  ballot  was 
then  taken  amid  great  excitement  and  resulted : 

Ramsey  40,  Davis  20,  Washburn  14,  Austin  9. 


138  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

And  then  the  volcano  burst.  Davis  had  started  eight  shy  of 
his  promises  and  after  gaining  one  had  lost  two  to  Ramsey. 
Davis  needed  22  to  nominate  and  Ramsey  only  needed  2.  There 
v^as  the  hand-writing  of  defeat  on  the  wall  for  Davis  and  the  rain- 
bow of  hope  in  the  sky  for  Ramsey.  The  Davis  men  felt  like 
the  man  who,  after  making  a  bad  break  at  a  fashionable  party, 
exclaimed:  "Where's  my  hat?  I  wish  I  WAS  in  hell !"  They 
w^ere  already  in  a  *'bad  fix,"  as  they  had  become  parties  to  a 
rule  not  to  adjourn  until  five  ballots  had  been  taken  and  only 
three,  formal,  were  yet  recorded. 

To  any  one  familiar  with  such  contests,  it  was  apparent  that 
if  two  more  ballots  were  taken  Ramsey  would  win  the  prize. 
Heroic  measures  were  demanded  and  with  almost  riotous  vehem- 
ence what  was  left  of  the  Davis,  Washburn  and  Austin  forces 
(inspired  by  advice  from  the  outside)  demanded  an  adjourn- 
ment in  spite  of  the  rule  adopted.  The  roll  was  called  under 
the  rule  adopted  and  the  motion  to  adjourn  was  lost.  This 
demonstrated  that  the  Ramsey  forces  would  get  the  needed 
two  votes  if  the  caucus  held  together.  And  here  the  Ramsey 
men  blundered.  Instead  of  forcing  the  fight  when  the  motion 
to  adjourn  was  defeated,  they  gave  the  Davis  men  a  recess  of 
10  minutes  for  consultation.  It  was  always  my  belief  that 
that  recess  cost  Ramsey  the  senatorship.  After  consulting 
with  outside  friends,  the  opposition  to  Ramsey  came  into  the 
caucus  foaming  at  the  mouth.  They  demanded  a  viva  voce 
vote  or  an  adjournment  and  declared  that  with  or  without  an 
adjourment  they  would  walk  out  if  another  secret  ballot  was 
attempted.  The  Ramsey  men  knew  that  with  a  viva  voce  vote 
they  could  not  hold  their  40  secret  supporters,  and  rather  than 
concede  that  and  expose  their  hand,  they  reluctantly  con- 
sented to  an  adjournment  until  the  next  night.  It  was  that  or 
the  absolute  disruption  of  the  caucus.  The  10  minutes'  recess 
had  given  the  Davis  men  a  chance  to  gather  their  wits  and 
now  the  Ramsey  camp  was  in  gloom. 

Just  before  the  informal  ballot  was  taken,  a  very  amusing 
incident  occurred.  The  caucus  being  secret,  the  only  tidings 
the  newspapers  or  outsiders  could  secure  was  the  mere  record 
of  the  ballots  handed  out  by  the  doorkeeper.  It  was  prior  to 
the  burning  of  the  old  capitol  and  there  were  large  ventilators  in 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  139 

the  ceiling  of  the  senate  chamber.  By  going  up  into  the  house 
gallery  an  entrance  could  be  effected  above  the  ceiling,  and  by 
-crawling  over  the  joists  the  ventilators  in  the  senate  chamber 
were  reached,  from  which,  with  some  difficulty,  a  fair  report  of 
the  proceedings  could  be  secured.  I  had  two  reporters  up  there, 
one  to  hold  a  candle  and  identify  the  speakers  while  the  other 
took  notes,  and  in  this  way  gave  a  four  or  five-column  report 
of  the  caucus,  (much  of  it  verbatim)  in  the  next  issue  of  the  Dis- 
patch. Prior  to  the  informal  ballot  the  occupant  of  the  senate 
chamber  were  startled  by  a  shower  of  plastering  and  the  sight 
of  a  big  foot  piercing  through  the  ceiling.  There  were 
two  sergeants-at-arms  at  the  door,  the  senate  sergeant  on 
the  inside  and  the  house  sergeant  on  the  outside.  Members 
of  the  caucus  rushed  to  the  door  and  gave  hasty  instructions 
to  the  outside  sergeant  to  arrest  the  eavesdropper.  The  ser- 
geant's name  was  Washington  Pierce  and  as  he  hailed  from 
Minneapolis  he  was  bound  to  do  or  die  in  the  attempt,  though 
"he  had  only  a  dazed  idea  of  where  to  find  the  culprit. 

Governor  Davis  was  not  excessively  pious  in  those  days,  and, 
in  order  to  make  sure  of  something  truly  good  in  his  administra- 
tion, he  had  selected  W.  L.  Wilson  of  St.  Paul  as  his  private  sec- 
retary. Mr.  Wilson  was  a  most  exemplary  citizen,  a  pillar  in  the 
House  of  Hope  and  whether  actually  a  deacon  in  the  church  at 
the  time  or  not,  he  was  styled  "Deacon  Wilson/'  especially  by 
the  irreverent  reporters.  Just  what  the  good  Deacon  was  doing 
in  the  house  gallery  at  that  time  I  never  knew,  though  I  believe 
he  claimed  that  he,  too,  was  looking  for  interlopers.  At  all 
events.  Pierce  rushed  up  to  the  house  gallery  and,  hearing  some- 
one within,  ordered  him  to  come  out,  and  in  response  out  stepped 
Deacon  Wilson  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  footprint  and  the  attend- 
ant excitement.  If  Pierce  had  not  been  so  excited  he  would 
"have  known  it  would  take  15  minutes  to  crawl  over  the  joists  in 
the  darkness  and  reach  the  senate  ventilators  and  that  the  culprits 
could  not  possibly  have  returned  to  the  gallery  of  the  house  by 
the  time  he  (Pierce)  reached  there.  Evidently  this  was  not 
thought  of,  for  he  placed  the  good  Deacon  unde^  arrest  and  had 
dragged  him  half  way  down  stairs  toward  the  senate  chamber 
before  the  Deacon    could    recover  from    his    astonishment    to 


140  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

expostulate.  The  zealous  official  was  trying  to  drag  him  into 
the  caucus  to  show  his  feat ! !  Deacon  Wilson  finally  shook  off 
Pierce's  embrace  with  great  indignation  and  but  for  his  religious 
scruples  would  probably  have  advised  him  to  seek  the  new  rail- 
road station  at  Jerusalem.  Friends  quickly  came  to  vouch  for 
and  rescue  the  Deacon  and  Pierce  was  told  he  would  be  arrested 
for  assault  if  he  persisted,  as  the  caucus  had  no  authority  to 
order  anyone's  arrest.  Meantime  the  real  offender  escaped.  He 
was  a  clerk  in  the  adjutant  general's  office,  and  his  foot  had 
slipped  between  the  joists  and  perforated  the  plastering.  But 
the  newspapers  did  not  tell  this  at  the  time  and  it  went  into  his- 
tory as  "Deacon  Wilson's  footprint."  A  favorite  parody  about 
the  capitol  the  next  day  ran : 

Lives  of  Deacons  all  remind  us^ 

We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And  departing  leave  behind  us. 

Footprints  on  the  laths  of  time. 

THE  NEXT  CAUCUS. 

When  the  Republican  caucus  to  nominate  a  United  States 
senator  adjourned  on  the  evening  of  Jan.  14,  1875,  the  party  was 
all  at  sea,  and  when  the  caucus  reassembled  on  the  next  even- 
ing— the  15th — there  was  no  improvement.  The  caucus  was 
held,  as  before,  in  the  senate  chamber,  with  closed  doors.  "Dea- 
con Wilson's  footprint"  on  the  ceiling  had  given  the  overhead 
reporters  a  point  of  vantage,  as  they  could  look  through  the  "foot- 
print" and  recognize  the  speakers  easier  than  by  the  use  of  the 
ventilators.  The  morning  papers  contented  themselves  with  what 
they  could  pick  up  on  the  outside,  but  the  Dispatch  had  two 
reporters  stationed  at  the  "footprint'^  and  had  even  a  more  elab- 
orate report  than  the  night  of  the  first  caucus.  This  was  really 
very  fortunate  for  history,  as  the  only  record  kept  by  the  secre- 
taries was  the  actual  ballots,  while  the  Dispatch  gave  a  running 
account  of  the  debates.  It  was  hardly  fair  to  compel  reporters 
to  secure  valuable  history  under  such  difficulties. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  141 

Fifteen  had  nerved  themselves  up  to  the  point  of  remaining 
absent  from  the  caucus  and  the  Ramsey  men  were  nervous  when 
the  roll  call  developed  that  the  following  good  Republicans  were 
not  present : 

Senators — T.  H.  Armstrong  of  Freeborn  county,  L.  F.  Hub- 
bard of  Goodhue,  R.  B.  Langdon  of  Hennepin,  A.  Nelson  of 
Meeker,  Knute  Nelson  of  Douglas  (present  United  States  sen- 
ator), A.  E.  Rice  of  Kandiyohi. 

Representatives — David  Benson  of  Renville  county,  George 
A.  Camp  of  Hennepin,  W.  P.  Dunnington  of  Wabasha,  R.  Fitz- 
gerald of  Freeborn,  J.  A.  Jackson  of  Wabasha,  N.  J.  Ottun  of 
Goodhue,  L.  K.  Stone  of  Swift,  Henry  Tunnell  of  Freeborn  and 
J.  G.  Whittemore  of  Pope. 

Thirteen  of  these  absentees  were  Davis  men  and  two  were 
supporters  of  Washburn.  When  it  came  to  the  balloting,  from 
14  to  17  more  who  were  present  refused  to  vote,  making  it 
decidedly  a  rump  caucus.  That  was  just  what  the  opposition  to 
Ramsey  proposed  it  should  be. 

The  first  impulse  of  many  was  to  abandon  the  caucus  after  the 
roll  call  disclosed  the  absentees,  but  Charles  A.  Gilman  of  Stearns 
and  E.  F.  Drake  of  St.  Paul  made  strong  speeches  in  favor  of 
proceeding  as  though  all  was  lovely. 

Senator  C.  H.  Pettit  of  Minneapolis  (chairman  of  the  state 
central  committee)  said  if  Senator  Ramsey's  friends  insisted  on 
proceeding  he  was  personally  prepared  to  commit  political  sui- 
cide as  gracefully  as  he  knew  how.  He  wanted  to  stand  by  the 
caucus,  but  the  nomination  of  Ramsey  would  kill  the  party  in 
Minnesota.  To  preserve  the  party  organization  intact,  though 
desiring  the  nomination  of  Washburn,  he  would  consent  to  take 
up  a  new  man. 

Levi  Butler  of  Minneapolis,  another  Washburn  man,  opposed 
proceeding  with  the  caucus,  and  C.  F.  Crosby  of  Rock  county,  a 
Davis  supporter,  spoke  in  the  same  vein. 

A  lo-minute  recess  followed,  for  consultation  with  outsiders, 
all  of  which  made  a  bad  matter  worse. 

After  the  recess,  E.  P.  Freeman  of  Mankato  said  he  came 
into  the  caucus  with  the  full  knowledge  and  consent  of  Governor 
Davis,  and  those  who  were  absent  were  acting  on  their  own 


142  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

responsibility.  Six  years  ago  Senator  Ramsey  said,  in  accept- 
ing his  second  term,  that  he  had  asked  the  office  for  the  last 
time,  and  he  thought  the  word  of  a  United  States  senator 
should  be  sacredly  observed. 

Charley  Clarke,  a  Ramsey  man,  and  Ingerson,  opposition, 
both  of  Hennepin  county,  favored  proceeding,  but  declared  that 
this  would  be  the  last  caucus  they  would  attend. 

The  Ramsey  men  did  not  do  much  talking.  It  was  not  neces^ 
sary.  In  that  rump  caucus  they  could  carry  a  vote  to  adjourn  or 
to  go  on,  as  they  pleased,  and  it  was  only  a  question  as  to  what 
they  thought  was  the  best  policy  for  them  to  pursue.  They 
decided  to  go  ahead,  but  in  order  to  make  a  showing  of  fairness- 
proposed  to  make  the  first  vote  informal,  though  the  caucus  was 
taking  formal  ballots  when  the  adjournment  occurred  the  night 
before.     The  informal  ballot  stood: 

Ramsey  37,  Washburn  8,  McMillan  3,  Davis  2,  Drake  i. 
This  showed  51  votes  or  32  less  than  the  number  of  Repub^ 
licans  in  the  legislature,  and  as  but  15  were  reported  absent  17 
who  were  present  refused  to  vote,  among  them  being  Messrs. 
Freeman,  Crosby  and  Berry.  Then  the  broken  thread  of  the 
previous  evening  was  taken  up  and  the  fourth  formal  ballot 
called  for.  There  were  consultations  but  no  open  debate,  and 
the  fourth  formal  ballot  stood: 

Ramsey  38,  Washburn  12,  Davis  i,  McMillan  i,  blank  i. 
The  fifth  and  last  ballot  stood:  Ramsey  42,  Washburn  12; 
total  54. 

If  Ramsey  could  have  scored  42  with  83  men  in  the  caucus 
he  would  have  been  a  victor,  but  42  under  the  circumstances 
was  like  one  of  Rip  Van  Winkle's  reform  drinks,  which  didn't 
count  that  time.  Of  course  it  was  made  unanimous  by  the  54^ 
the  14  others  who  were  present,  but  did  not  vote  on  the  last 
ballot,  sitting  in  sullen  silence. 

Senator  Ramsey  was  brought  in  and  returned  thanks  in  a 
perfunctory  manner,  but  there  was  neither  hilarity  nor  enthu- 
siasm. The  Ramsey  men  did  not  know  what  kind  of  a  prize 
they  had  gotten  and  the  Davis  men  did  not  know  where  they 
were  at,  while  Washburn  and  Austin  had  gone  a-glimmering. 
The  capitol  that  night  was  a  reflex  of  the  joy  which  pervaded 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  14a 

Mudville  the  day  when  "mighty  Casey  struck  out."  To  add  to 
the  ominous  character  of  the  occasion  these  proceedings  occurred 
on  Friday. 

The  Democrats  and  liberal  Republicans  had  been  watching 
the  Republican  diversion  and  doing  a  good  deal  of  thinking, 
without  committing  an  overt  act.  It  may  surprise  those  who 
have  become  accuscomed  to  consider  Minnesota  a  RepubUcan 
state  to  learn  that  at  that  time  there  were  64  members  of  the 
legislature  who  did  not  subscribe  to  the  Republican  faith,  and  as 
1875  was  a  good  deal  of  an  independent  year  in  electing  senators 
in  other  states,  particularly  in  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  they 
were  hopeful.  A  caucus  was  accordingly  called  of  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  Republicans  to  meet  in  the  Merchants'  hotel  dining 
room  on  Monday  evening,  January  i8th,  the  night  before  the 
first  vote  in  the  legislature.  It  was  held  with  closed  doors,  and 
a  burly  policeman  was  placed  at  the  door  in  order  to  have  some- 
one authorized  to  arrest  if  any  one  came  through  the  skylight. 
When  the  caucus  was  called  to  order,  I.  M.  Westfall  of  Olmsted 
was  elected  chairman  and  E.  W.  Durant  of  Stillwater  secretary. 
It  was  a  little  odd  that  in  a  caucus  largely  composed  of  Demo- 
crats, the  officers  should  both  be  Liberal  Republicans  who  had 
Horace  Greeleyized  themselves  into  the  Democratic  party  in  1872. 
The  first  move  was  to  order  the  ballot  for  a  candidate  to  be  viva 
voce.  There  was  considerable  opposition  to  this,  but  it  finally 
prevailed.  Senator  Doughty  of  Lake  City  then  oflfered  the  fol- 
lowing resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  caucus  pledge  themselves  in- 
dividually and  collectively,  to  support  said  nominee  as  long  as  he  shall 
remain  the  nominee  of  the  party. 

Surprising  as  it  may  seem,  this  resolution  created  a  storm. 
The  old  line  Democrats  feared  that  Ignatius  Donnelly  might  be 
the  nominee  and  they  did  not  want  to  pledge  themselves  to  him. 
Donnelly  was  a  member  of  the  senate  and  present  at  the  caucus, 
and  this  resolution  had  been  offered  by  a  liberal  Republican 
friend  of  his.  Senator  Michael  Doran  of  Le  Sueur,  J.  L.  Mac- 
Donald  of  Shakopee,  L.  L.  Baxter  of  Fergus  Falls,  and  others 
favored  the  resolution,  while  Senator  W.  P.  Murray  of  St.  Paul, 
Berry  and  a  good  many  others  declared  they  did  not  want  to  be 


144  H.  R  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

bound  by  the  caucus.  After  a  long  and  bitter  debate  the  resolu- 
tion was  voted  down,  which  made  the  caucus  an  anomaly.  No 
one  was  in  the  least  degree  bound  to  abide  by  the  decision.  There 
were  51  present  out  of  a  possible  64,  and  Senator  Murray  pro- 
posed that  for  the  purposes  of  the  caucus  the  opposition  to  the 
Republicans  be  placed  at  58  and  that  30  nominate  a  candidate. 
This  peculiar  motion  was  carried,  though  in  the  balloting  in  the 
legislature  64  votes  were  uniformly  cast  against  the  Republicans. 
When  it  came  to  nominating  candidates,  Messrs.  Murray, 
Baxter  and  Berry  advocated  nominating  no  one  but  an  old- 
line  Democrat,  while  Westfall,  the  chairman,  thought  the  liberal 
Republicans  ought  to  have  a  chance,  and  paralyzed  the  caucus 
by  declaring  that  he  never  voted  a  Democratic  ticket  in  his  life 
up  to  that  date.  Donnelly  was  among  those  named  in  the 
speeches  and  the  informal  ballot  was  thus  recorded: 

Donnelly  21,  Wm.  Lochren  of  Minneapolis  8,  Edmund  Rice 
of  St.  Paul  7,  E.  M.  Wilson  of  MinneapoHs  4,  M.  J.  Severance 
of  Le  Sueur  3,  H.  H.  Sibley  of  St.  Paul  2,  H.  M.  Rice  of  St. 
Paul  I.     Only  46  of  the  51  present  had  voted. 

On  the  first  formal  ballot  Donnelly  received  2.y,  and  on  the 
second  (and  last)  formal  ballot  the  vote  was:  Donnelly  30,  E. 
Rice  6,  Lochren  8,  Wilson  i. 

Mr.  Murray's  accommodating  resolution  of  allowing  30  to 
nominate  had  accomplished  just  what  he  wanted  to  prevent,  the 
nomination  of  Donnelly.  If  Donnelly  had  needed  a  majority  of 
64,  with  only  46  voting,  he  might  have  failed.  It  was  evidently 
Murray's  fear,  when  he  made  his  motion,  that  a  majority  of  all 
those  present  would  be  allowed  to  nominate,  and  as  there  were 
only  51  present  by  extending  it  to  a  majority  of  58  he  thought 
he  would  thus  place  it  beyond  Donnelly's  reach.  But  he  didn't. 
It  was  made  unanimous,  and  Donnelly,  who  had  retired  during 
the  balloting,  was  brought  in  and  made  the  usual  acceptance 
speech,  declaring  if  all  the  opposition  would  stand  by  him  he 
could  be  elected.  The  whole  fight  of  the  old  mossback  Demo- 
crats had  been  directed  at  Donnelly,  and  they  were  enraged  at 
his  success.  The  failure  to  pass  Doughty's  resolution  left  them 
free  to  swear,  and  they  did  in  a  manner  which  would  have  made 
"our  army  in  Flanders"  turn  green  with  envy.    The  Pioneer, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  145 

then  a  Democratic  organ,  came  out  with  a  column  editorial  the 
next  morning  blistering  and  denouncing  Donnelly. 

Thus  the  two  great  parties  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array  on 
the  morning  of  Jan.  19,  1875,  the  day  the  real  fight  was  to  begin 
by  a  vote  in  the  legislature.  Instead  of  each  presenting  an 
unbroken  front,  neither  one  could  be  said  to  have  a  reliable 
skirmish  line. 


THE  REAL  THING. 

The  19th  of  January,  1875,  was  the  date  when  the  Minne- 
sota legislature  was  required  to  vote  for  a  senator  in  the  separate 
branches  of  the  legislature.  In  compliance  with  this  fhe  senate 
cast  this  vote: 

Ramsey  18        Buckham *• I 

Donnelly 12  

Davis 8  Total 41 

Washburn i 

In  explaining  his  vote  Senator  Knute  Nelson  said  he  was  for 
Davis,  but  having  gone  into  the  caucus  he  felt  bound  by  it  and 
would  vote  for  Ramsey.  1  think  Senator  Nelson  must  have 
referred  to  the  first  caucus  night,  as  all  three  of  the  daily  papers 
agree  in  reporting  him  absent  the  night  of  the  second  or 
adjourned  caucus.  Senators  Freeman,  Hubbard  and  Rice  voted 
for  Davis,  as  did  Coggswell  (Dem.)  and  McGovern  (Dem.). 

In  the  house  the  vote  stood : 

Ramsey  42        Lochren I 

Donnelly 41        Washburn I 

Davis   16        Sibley I 

Oilman 3  

Andrews i  Total 106 

Aggregating  the  votes  of  the  two  houses,  Ramsey  received 
60,  Davis  24,  Donnelly  53,  and  the  remainder  scattering.  That 
was  the  intial  day  in  the  legislature,  and  few  foresaw  the  pro- 
tracted struggle  which  was  to  follow. 

10 


146  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  next  day,  January  20th,  the  second  vote,  but  the  first  in 
joint  session,  was  taken.     It  was: 

Ramsey  61         Sibley 3 

Donnelly 51        Austin i 

Davis   24        Scattering 7 

Total  vote  cast,  147;  necessary  to  a  choice,  74.  The  joint 
convention  was  content  with  one  ballot  and  speedily  adjourned. 

On  the  next  day,  January  21st,  an  event  of  interest  occurred, 
when  the  third  ballot  was  taken.  There  was  some  absenteeism 
and  Ramsey  had  58,  Donnelly  52,  Davis  24,  Washburn  4,  and 
remainder  scattering. 

When  Senator  Petit*s  name  was  called  he  arose  to  explain 
his  vote.  He  said  he  had  heretofore  supported  the  regular  nom- 
inee of  the  Republican  caucus,  but  for  reasons  that  it  was 
unnecessary  to  publicly  explain,  he  no  longer  felt  in  duty  bound 
to  vote  for  that  person,  and  therefore  named  for  his  choice  S.  J. 
R.  McMillan.  This  was  the  first  presentation  of  McMillan's 
name,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  next  day  McMillan  was 
voted  for  upon  every  ballot  until  the  contest  closed.  Loren 
Fletcher  of  Minneapolis  had  voted  for  C.  C.  Andrews  from  the 
start  up  to  that  time,  but  his  boom  did  not  materialize. 

Mr.  Petit's  speech  and  vote  attracted  a  good  deal  of  atten- 
tion and  created  no  end  of  questions  as  to  what  had  happened 
to  move  such  a  stalwart  party  man.  The  matter  was  not 
helped  or  cleared  up  in  the  least  when  the  Press,  Ramsey's 
organ,  came  out  the  next  morning  with  an  onslaught  on  Petit, 
which  was  in  part  as  follows : 

"It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  a  gentleman  who  left  the  city  yes- 
terday has  been  urgently  telegraphed  for  by  Senator  Ramsey  and 
his  friends,  to  make  his  appearance  to-day  and  explain  his  con- 
nection with  an  accommodating  arrangement  to  supply  Mr. 
Petit  with  a  pretext  for  opposing  Senator  Ramsey,  for  which 
the  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee  has  long  been 
keenly  searching,  and  for  kindly  volunteering  to  place  the  pre^ 
tended  evidence  of  corruption,  for  which  he  has  been  so  long 
on  the  lookout,  right  under  Mr.  Petit's  inquisitive  nose." 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  147 

In  the  joint  session  of  the  22d  Mr.  Petit  arose  to  a  question 
of  personal  privilege  and  replied  to  the  Press,  concluding  by  vot- 
ing for  Washburn.  But  still  he  did  not  explain  what  all  the  talk 
was  about.  The  ballot  was  an  exact  counterpart  of  the  day  pre- 
vious, save  in  some  changes  among  the  scattering.  An  adjourn- 
ment over  Sunday  and  until  the  26th  of  January  followed. 

When  the  joint  convention  re-assembled  on  the  26th,  the 
explosion  came,  and  the  mystery  was  divulged.  Senator  Hub- 
bard, referring  to  reports  of  attempted  bribery  which  had,  by 
innuendo,  at  least,  crept  into  print,  called  for  the  facts. 

In  response  Representative  Ingerson  of  Maple  Plaine,  Hen- 
nepin county,  said  the  position  was  one  very  embarrassing  to  him. 
He  could  now  only  say  that  the  reports  which  have  appeared  in 
the  papers  have  some  basis  in  fact.  A  bribe  of  $500  to  vote  for 
Senator  Ramsey  was  oflfered  him  in  the  billiard  room  of  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel,  and  the  offer  was  subsequently  repeated  to 
him  on  the  street. 

W.  P.  Murray — Will  the  gentleman  state  the  name  of  the 
person  who  attempted  to  bribe  him? 

Mr.  Ingerson — I  do  not  know,  except  I  was  told  his  name 
was  Dike. 

On  the  vote  which  followed  Ramsey  dropped  to  50  from  58 
the  day  before  and  Donnelly  also  had  50.  McMillan  had  two 
votes  on  the  fifth  ballot,  which  were  cast  by  Finseth  and  Berg. 
Thereafter  there  was  no  ballot  without  his  (McMillan's)  name 
appearing  with  a  few  votes. 

On  the  next  day,  January  27th,  Ingerson  moved  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  investigating  committee  to  ascerain  the  truth  of  his 
charges,  and  J.  W.  Furber  of  Washington  county,  C.  F.  Crosby 
of  Rock  county,  both  Republicans,  and  Frank  L.  Morse,  Demo- 
crat, of  Mineapolis,  were  appointed.  The  story  was  that  Major 
W.  H.  Dike  of  Faribault  had  made  the  offer  to  Mr.  Ingerson  of 
$500  if  he  would  vote  for  Ramsey.  Ingerson  testified  that  Dike 
proposed  putting  the  money  under  a  stone  on  Third  street, 
where  he  could  go  and  find  it,  but  said  the  major  did  not  spec- 
ify the  stone.  The  major  was  greatly  exercised  over  the  charge 
and  employed  Judge  Flandrau  to  appear  as  his  attorney  be- 
fore the  committee.    Dike's  story  was  that  he  said  to  Ingerson 


148  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

in  the  hotel  that  he  would  give  $500  if  Ramsey  was  elected, 
so  that  he  could  go  home,  but  not  intending  to  inti- 
mate that  he  would  pay  Ingerson  for  his  vote.  Later 
Dike  and  General  Le  Due  were  going  across  the  street 
to  get  a  glass  of  beer,  and  Ingerson  happened  to  come 
along  and  was  invited  to  join  them,  which  he  did.  In  the  beer 
hall  the  major  repeated  that  he  would  give  $500  if  he  could  go 
home,  knowing  that  Ramsey  was  safely  elected.  General  LeDuc 
corroborated  Major  Dike  in  his  statement,  declaring  no  offer  of 
money  was  made.  There  was  no  evidence  to  connect  Ramsey, 
personally,  with  the  matter,  and  to  read  the  evidence  calmly, 
after  the  lapse  of  30  years,  it  looks  like  a  very  thin  charge.  But 
things  were  sizzling  hot  at  that  time,  and  the  two  Republican 
members  of  the  committee  brought  in  a  report  on  February  4th, 
submitting  the  testimony  without  giving  an  opinion  or  making 
any  recommendation,  while  the  Democratic  member,  Frank 
Morse,  submitted  a  minority  report,  declaring  that  Ingerson  had 
sustained  his  charges.  A  peculiar  feature  of  the  affair  was  that, 
following  the  double  report,  Crosby,  who  had  joined  in  the 
majority  report,  submitted  a  resolution  that  the  charges  were 
sustained  by  the  evidence,  and  asked  to  have  the  resolution  made 
the  special  order  for  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  February.  The 
house  adjourned  over  that  day,  and  the  whole  matter  appears  to 
have  been  dropped  by  common  consent.  There  were  two  other 
alleged  attempts  at  bribery  referred  to  the  same  committee,  one 
being  the  promise  of  an  office  and  the  other  of  $1,000,  but  the 
committee  reported  that  the  charges  were  not  sustained,  and, 
as  usual,  the  cases  were  soon  forgotten.  One  of  the  charges 
was  that  Sumner  Chase  had  offered  Representative  Bosworth 
money  to  vote  for  Davis.  This  was  gotten  up  as  a  counter 
irritant  for  the  Ingerson-Dike  affair,  but  the  committee  unan- 
imously and  emphatically  declared  that  there  was  no  evidence 
of  such  an  occurrence. 

On  Jan.  28th  the  Democrats  changed  front.  The  hardshells 
in  and  out  of  the  legislature  had  persistently  kicked  against 
Donnelly's  candidacy  because  he  was  not  ushered  into  the  world 
with  a  Democratic  birthmark  branded  on  his  forehead.  They 
held  a  caucus  every  evening  at  the  Merchants,  chiefly  to  see  how 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  149 

to  get  rid  of  Donnelly,  rather  than  to  determine  how  to  elect  a 
senator.  Donnelly  had  been  voted  for  six  times,  but  at  no  time 
received  over  53  votes  out  of  the  64  opposition  members.  At 
the  caucus  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  he  sent  a  letter  withdraw- 
ing his  name,  saying  that  five  Democrats  had  voted  steadily  for 
Davis,  one  for  Ramsey,  and  the  others  had  changed  about  simply 
to  throw  away  their  votes.  He  stated  that  if  he  could  have  secured 
his  64  party  votes,  he  thought  the  remaining  10  would  have  been 
found  and  he  would  have  been  elected.  His  declination  was 
accepted  quick,  and  an  informal  ballot  taken  for  his  suc- 
cessor, which  resulted  in  William  Lochren  (now  U.  S. 
district  judge)  of  Minneapolis,  having  19  votes  and  Ed- 
mund Rice  of  St.  Paul  17.  At  this  point  Donnelly  put 
on  his  war  paint.  He  held  Rice,  or  his  friends,  responsible 
for  his  own  defeat,  and  he  served  notice  on  the  Democrats  that 
he  would  oppose  Rice  openly  in  the  legislature.  The  result  was 
on  the  next  and  formal  ballot  Lochren  had  41  to  3  for  Rice.  Pre- 
vious to  this  a  proposition  to  turn  in  and  elect  Davis  had  been 
made,  but  met  with  no  favor.  Consequently,  on  the  28th,  the 
Democrats  voted  for  Lochren,  but  he  only  received  55  votes, 
and  Ramsey  had  the  same. 

On  January  29th  Knute  Nelson  left  Ramsey  and  voted  for 
McMillan.  On  the  ist  of  February  Ingerson  came  over  to  Mc- 
Millan, and  on  the  4th  of  February  McMillan  had  6.  This  did 
not  attract  any  particular  attention,  as  the  members  were  merely 
throwing  away  their  votes  to  kill  time,  being  compelled  to  take 
at  least  one  ballot  every  day.  One  day  Sam  Nichols,  the  clerk 
of  the  house,  received  six  votes.  Ramsey's  vote  ran  down  to  44, 
and  Davis  ran  up  32.  In  this  dilemma  the  Ramsey  men 
appointed  Messrs.  McKusick,  Drake,  Bosworth,  Anderson  and 
Egan  a  committee  to  confer  with  the  Davis  forces,  and  the  Davis 
men  appointed  Messrs.  Freeman,  Hubbard  and  Armstrong  to  act 
for  them.  On  February  4th  the  Ramsey  men  submitted  two 
propositions.     The  first  was : 

Resolved,  That  all  Republican  members  of  the  legislature  meet 
for  consultation  to  see  if  we  can  agree  upon  a  candidate  for  United 
States  senator  in  case  it  shall  hereafter  be  decided  to  withdraw  both 
Mr.  Ramsey  and  Governor  Davis  from  the  canvass  as  candidates  by 
their  respective  friends. 


150  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

If  this  was  rejected  the  Ramsey  committee  offered  the  follow- 
ing: 

Resolved,  That  both  Senator  Ramsey  and  Governor  Davis  shall 
be  simultaneously  withdrawn  from  the  canvass  as  candidates  for  the 
United  States  senate  and  all  the  Republican  members  of  the  legislature 
shall  vote  in  joint  convention  for  Republican  candidates  other  than 
Ramsey  and  Davis  until  we  elect  a  Republican. 

These  propositions  were  plump  acknowledgment  of  Ramsey's 
defeat,  while  the  Davis  men  still  had  hope,  though,  at  that  time, 
there  was  not  much  reason  for  hope.  The  Davis  men  at  first 
made  no  reply,  and  on  February  loth  the  Ramsey  committee 
renewed  the  same  propositions,  the  Davis  committee  replying 
that  they  would  accept  the  first  resolution. 

As  a  result  of  the  committee  correspondence,  another  Repub- 
lican caucus  was  held  at  the  Metropolitan  hotel  on  the  night  of 
February  nth,  with  Levi  Butler  of  Minneapolis  as  chairman 
and  C.  F.  Crosby  secretary.  Having  gotten  the  caucus  together 
on  the  first  proposition,  the  Ramsey  people  endeavored  to  spring 
the  second  on  the  same  theory  as  the  fox,  who  lost  his  tail  in  a 
trap  wanted  all  the  foxes  to  amputate  their  caudal  appendages. 
Ramsey  was  defeated  sure,  and  they  wanted  to  be  certain  his 
antagonist  was  buried  with  him  in  a  common  grave.  The  motion 
to  withdraw  both  Ramsey  and  Davis  was  lost  by  two  votes,  and 
then  the  caucus  proceeded  to  act  on  the  first  proposition  by  tak- 
ing three  ballots,  just  for  fun,  to  see  who  they  would  favor  if  the 
two  leaders  were  out  of  the  way.  To  show  the  hopeless  diversity 
of  opinion,  and  also  to  show  that  McMillan  was  not  seriously 
considered  up  to  that  time,  I  give  the  "three  ballots  for  fun,'' 
which  were  as  follows: 

1st        2d  3d 

Ballot.  Ballot.  Ballot. 

W.  D.  Washburn 14           20  26 

G.  E.   Cole 10           20  26 

T.  S.  Buckham 6             3  i 

H.  C.  Wait 47  3 

J.  S.  Pillsbury 56  5 

Horace  Austin  32  3 

S.  J.  R.  McMillan 4            2  i 

E.F.Drake 'o             3  3 

C.  A.  Gilman o            o  5 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  151 

While  this  caucus  adjourned  without  immediate  results,  it 
bore  fruit,  for  two  days  later,  on  February  13th,  L.  F.  Hubbard 
withdrew  the  name  of  Davis,  and  E.  F.  Drake  withdrew  the  name 
of  Ramsey.  This  result  was  inevitable  from  the  time  the  Ram- 
sey men  gave  the  Davis  men  10  minutes'  recess  the  night  of  the 
first  caucus,  but  it  took  them  nearly  a  month  to  find  it  out.  The 
Republicans  brought  out  Washburn  and  Austin  again,  but  Gor- 
don E.  Cole  of  Faribault  divided  the  honors  with  them.  Pre- 
vious to  February  13th  there  had  only  been  one  ballot  taken  each 
day,  but  on  that  date  and  the  two  successive  days  there  were 
three  ballots  each  day.  They  were  trying  to  "get  together/'  The 
ballots  on  the  13th,  which  followed  the  withdrawal  of  Ramsey 
and  Davis,  were: 

1st        2d         3d 
Ballot.  Ballot.  Ballot. 

Lochren  (Dem.)   64  64  63 

Cole   (Rep.) 29  28  35 

Washburn  (Rep.) 27  27  31 

Austin  (Rep.)  10  8  4 

McMillan  (Rep.)  9  7  2 

S.  P.  Child  (Rep.) 06  o 

Scattering 12  7  o 

The  balloting  ran  along  in  this  scattering  manner  for  four 
days  more,  and  on  February  17th,  the  day  before  his  boom  began, 
McMillan  had  but  two  votes  on  the  twenty-seventh  ballot,  though 
he  had  had  as  high  as  nine  on  a  ballot  some  days  previous. 
When  the  joint  convention  met  February  i8th  Colonel  Graves 
of  Duluth  withdrew  Washburn's  name  and  started  a  boom  for 
McMillan.  Four  ballots  were  taken  that  day,  McMillan  having 
30,  45,  48  and  57  votes  in  the  order  named.  During  the  adjourn- 
ment the  Republicans  kissed  and  made  up,  and  on  the  first  and 
only  ballot,  on  Feb.  19,  1875,  McMillan  received  82  votes,  and 
was  declared  elected  United  States  senator  for  six  years. 

Representative  Finseth  of  Goodhue  county  has  been  given 
the  credit  of  discovering  McMillan,  and  constantly  adhering  to 
his  fortunes  until  election.  The  truth  of  history  compels  the 
statement  that  this  is  an  error.  C.  H.  Petit  of  Minneapolis  devel- 
oped McMillan  on  the  third  ballot.  Finseth  did  not  vote  for 
him  until  the  fifth  ballot,  and,  while  on  every  ballot  thereafter 


152  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

McMillan  had  one  or  more  votes  until  the  boom  came,  Finseth 
voted  for  Washburn  and  Hubbard  a  number  of  times,  and  was 
by  no  means  a  steadfast  adherent  to  the  successful  man.  And 
still  he  was  lionized  at  the  time  as  the  man  who  made  the  senator. 

The  first  ballot  was  taken  on  January  19th  and  the  last  on 
February  19th.  The  legislature  was  in  session  during  this  time 
23  days,  and  in  all  32  ballots  were  taken.  On  three  days  there 
were  three  ballots  each  day  and  one  day  four.  All  the  other 
days  only  one  ballot  was  taken.  Ramsey  and  Davis  were  in  the 
field  for  17  ballots,  and  this  is  the  record  of  their  votes : 

Ramsey— 60,  61,  58,  58,  50,  55,  55,  47,  44,  46,  44,  44,  43,  42, 

44,  44,  52. 

Davis— 24,  24,  24,  24,  22,  23,  23,  22,  23,  23,  27,  28,  32,  30,  29, 

33,  33. 

There  was  evidently  a  lingering  hope  that  Ramsey  might  be 
resuscitated,  for  on  three  of  the  ballots  on  the  i8th  of  February 
he  was  voted  for,  receiving  4,  6  and  5  votes,  respectively. 

McMillan  was  voted  for  on  29  ballots,  his  record  being: 

McMillan— I,  2,  2,  2,  3,  3,  4,  4,  6,  5,  7,  8,  8,  5,  9,  7,  2,  5,  4, 
3,  3,  3,  3,  2,  30,  45,  48,  57,  82. 

Donnelly  was  voted  for  16  times,  receiving  53,  51,  52,  52,  50 
and  49. 

Lochren  was  voted  for  on  26  ballots,  starting  at  55,  running 
as  low  as  45,  and  only  receiving  64  votes,  the  full  strength  of  his 
party,  on  six  ballots.     On  the  final  ballot  he  had  but  61. 

Of  the  60  who  voted  for  Ramsey  on  the  first  ballot  59  voted 
for  McMillan  and  one  for  Cole  on  the  last  ballot.  That  accounts 
for  the  one  shortage,  as  83  was  the  full  Republican  strength. 
Every  Republican  who  voted  for  Davis  on  the  first  ballot  voted 
for  McMillan  on  the  last.  Some  prophetic  soul  cast  one  vote 
for  Knute  Nelson  on  February  15th.  He  can  be  classed  as  hav- 
ing jumped  Governor  Clough's  claim  as  the  original  Nelson 
boomer. 

While  Governor  Davis  was  then  recognized  as  a  brilliant  and 
coming  man,  it  was  not  either  his  or  Ramsey's  personality  which 
caused  the  bitter  fight.  The  Ramsey  men  were  the  ones  who 
had  taken  charge  of  the  party  affairs  from  the  time  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  organized  in  Minnesota.    The  Davis  men  were 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  153 

composed  of  the  younger  working  men  of  the  party,  and,  while 
admirers  of  Davis,  they  fought  for  him  as  they  did  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overturning  a  factional  and  tyrannical  dynasty  in  the 
party.     And,  though  Davis  personally  lost,  his  cause  won. 

On  Feb.  19,  1875,  the  morning  after  Judge  S.  J.  R.  McMillan 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  the  St.  Paul  Press,  which 
was  an  ardent  friend  of  Senator  Ramsey's,  made  this  comment: 

The  Republican  party  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  dead — so  dead 
as  to  be  unable  to  preserve  even  the  forms  of  organization — and  this 
being  the  case,  we  don't  see  but  that  Judge  McMillan  will  do  as  well 
as  any  one  who  can  be  chosen  to  bury  the  corpse  and  administer  the 
estate. 

Mr.  Wheelock,  editor  of  the  Press,  was  postmaster  of  St.  Paul 
at  this  time  by  the  grace  of  Ramsey,  and  I  do  not  blame  him  for 
thinking  the  Republican  party  was  dead.  There  have  been  times 
when  I  have  had  that  opinion,  or  at  least  have  been  in  doubt 
whether  it  was  the  Republican  party  or  myself  that  was  dead. 

Senator  McMillan  took  his  seat  March  6,  1875,  and  on  March 
17,  1875,  the  following  special  telegram  was  sent  from  Washing- 
ton to  the  Minneapolis  Tribune : 

The  question  of  a  change  of  postmaster  at  St.  Paul  was  left  to 
Senator  McMillan's  decision,  although  both  the  president  and  the  post- 
master general  strongly  advised  against  any  change.  McMillan  has  rec- 
ommended Dr.  Day  for  Wheelock's  place,  and  will  probably  insist  on 
his  appointment. 

Mr.  Wheelock,  the  editor  of  the  Press,  took  the  position  of 
postmaster  May  17,  1870,  and  at  the  expiration  of  four  years 
was  reappointed.  He  had  consequently  served  less  than  a  year 
on  his  second  term  when  he  announced  the  death  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  because  Ramsey  was  defeated,  and  appointed  Senator 
McMillan  administrator.  Later  Mr.  Wheelock  wrote  the  presi- 
dent a  very  able  letter  advocating  civil  service,  but  that  dogma 
had  not  taken  very  deep  root,  and  in  discharging  his  duties  as 
administrator  Senator  McMillan  still  insisted  on  Wheelock's 
removal.  The  result  was  that  July  i,  1875,  Dr.  Day,  who  had 
been  appointed  in  June,  became  postmaster  of  St.  Paul  and  held 


154  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

the  office  12^  years,  which  was  six  months  longer  than  Senator 
McMillan^s  two  terms.  Mr.  Wheelock's  item  of  Feb.  19,  1875, 
and  Dr.  Day's  commission  as  postmaster  July  i,  1875,  might  be 
handed  down  to  history  as  an  object  lesson  entitled,  "Results 
from  natural  causes." 

In  taking  this  action  Senator  McMillan  proved  himself  a 
poor  politician.  A  good  many  people  have  differed  with  Mr. 
Wheelock  during  his  long  editorial  career,  but  no  one  who  ever 
knew  him  would  expect  he  would  be  influenced  in  his  editorial 
work  by  a  postoffice.  And  still  it  would  be  only  human  for  him 
to  be  a  little  more  tender  towards  Senator  McMillan  if  he  (Whee- 
lock) had  been  made  his  (McMillan's)  appointee  as  postmaster. 
I  must  admit  that  I  helped  the  cause  along  by  almost  daily  tan- 
talizing the  senator  in  the  Dispatch,  with  the  assurance  that  the 
Republican  party,  being  dead,  he  could  not  infuse  sufficient  life 
into  the  corpse  to  remove  Wheelock.  But  he  did  and  made  a 
political  mistake  in  so  doing. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-ONE. 


A  Bad  Mistake  Which  Bore  Fruit. 


It  pains  me  to  be  compelled,  in  the  interest  of  morality,  to 
-say  that  I  have  heard  of  lies  being  told  during  political  cam- 
paigns— yes,  absolute  lies.  I  suppose  that  this  is  due  to  the 
-excited  and  animated  condition  of  the  cerebellum,  which  causes 
the  lymphatic  nerves  to  engage  in  entangling  alliances,  out  of 
which  obfuscation,  the  generating  element  of  prevarication,  is 
stimulated  into  being.  I  should  regret  if  this  explanation  should 
produce  unhappiness,  but  it  really  is  the  part  of  prudence  to  know 
the  worst  and  be  prepared  for  the  best. 

A  literal  illustration  of  this  peculiar  phenomena  came  to  ex- 
Lieutenant  Governor  Rice  of  Willmar,  a  few  years  ago,  and  inci- 
dentally it  reached  ex-Senator  Ramsey,  and,  striking  that  por- 
tion of  the  anatomy  known  as  the  neck,  aided  in  making  him  an 
ex.  It  was  in  1874  when  Mr.  Rice  was  nominated  for  state  sen- 
ator in  the  district  composed  of  Chippewa,  Swift  and  Kandiyohi 
counties.  Mr.  Rice  was  ill  with  typhoid  fever  and  came  to  Min- 
neapolis for  treatment.  While  in  his  sick  bed  he  received  a  letter 
from  J.  W.  Burdick  of  Willmar,  one  of  his  warm  friends,  saying 
that  Senator  Ramsey,  who  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  at  the 
next  session  of  the  legislature,  had  sent  a  man  named  Farns- 
worth  up  into  the  district  to  bring  out  a  Republican  candidate 
against  him.  This  was  rendered  the  more  emphatic  by  the 
statement  that  the  Ramsey  emissary  declared  his  readiness  and 
ability  to  expend  $2,000  if  necessary  to  defeat  Rice.  This  news 
made  Rice  almost  mad  enough  to  get  well,  but,  in  spite  of  his 
wrath,  his  recovery  was  delayed,  and  he  remained  at  Minneapolis 
during  the  canvass.     He  was  wholly  at  a  loss  to  account  for  this 

(155) 


156  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Ramsey  hostility,  and  too  ill  to  investigate.  He  was  gratified 
to  find,  in  the  end,  that  neither  Republican  nor  Democrat  ap- 
peared against  him,  and  his  election  was  unanimous.  But  he  did 
not  feel  grateful  just  because  the  Ramsey  men,  as  he  supposed, 
could  find  no  one  to  take  the  field. 

When  Mr.  Rice  came  down  to  St.  Paul  in  January,  1875,  the 
senatorial  fight  was  on.  One  of  his  early  acquaintances  was 
Judge  R.  F.  Crowell,  a  Chesterfieldian  politician  of  the  suaviter 
in  modo  school.  The  judge  was  Ramsey's  private  secretary,  and, 
naturally,  in  the  center  of  the  Ramsey  camp.  He  approached 
Mr.  Rice  with  the  grace  for  which  he  was  so  distinguished,  and 
invited  him  to  drop  in  at  the  Ramsey  headquarters.  Rice  was 
boiling  over  with  indignation  over  the  attempt  of  Ramsey  to 
bring  out  a  candidate  against  him,  and  the  supposed  fact  that  he 
also  desired  to  expend  $2,000  to  secure  his  defeat.  It  was  an 
insult,  he  thought,  for  Ramsey  to  expect  any  aid  from  him.  He 
could  scarcely  be  civil  to  the  judge,  and  assured  him,  in  language 
which  had  no  uncertain  meaning,  that  he  (Rice)  did  not  propose 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  Ramsey,  but  would  work  most 
earnestly  to  elect  another  man.  Judge  Crowell,  who  was  a  quiet 
and  one  of  the  best  natured  men  in  the  world  and  a  thorough 
gentleman,  expressed  his  sorrow  at  Rice's  attitude,  but  made  no 
further  eflort  to  secure  his  vote.  Rice  went  into  the  camp  of  the 
hostiles,  was  one  of  the  warmest  supporters  of  C.  K.  Davis  while 
he  was  a  candidate,  and  one  of  the  most  unrelenting  foes  of  Ram- 
sey until  the  crown  was  placed  on  Judge  McMillan's  head. 

At  this  time  Rice  had  not  explained  his  grievance,  but  simply 
nursed  his  wrath.  When  it  was  all  over,  and  Ramsey  was  de- 
feated, he  chanced  to  meet  Farnsworth  and  took  him  to  task  for 
aiding  the  Ramsey  scheme  to  defeat  him.  It  almost  paralyzed 
him  to  be  informed  by  Farnsworth  that  that  was  the  first  he 
(Farnsworth)  had  heard  of  the  matter ;  that  he  had  not  been  sent 
or  gone  into  the  district  to  disturb  him  in  the  least.  It  was  now 
Rice's  turn  to  be  a  little  sorry  for  having  fought  a  man  under 
a  misapprehension.  He  took  his  friend  Burdick  to  task,  but 
without  satisfaction,  and  no  reason  was  ever  developed  to  show 
why  he  set  afloat  that  tale  of  woe.     Ramsey  and  Rice  were  mem- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  157 

bers  of  the  centennial  commission  in  charge  of  Minnesota's 
exhibit  at  the  Centennial  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  and  Rice,  hav- 
ing done  what  he  could  to  transform  the  senator  into  a  political 
cadaver,  thought  he  ought  to  explain,  which  he  did.  The  result 
was  he  also  learned  from  the  ex-senator's  own  lips  that  the  story- 
was  a  romance  from  start  to  finish.  The  mistake  could  never  be 
rectified.  The  explanations  came  too  late.  Politically,  "Ramsey- 
had  fought  his  last  battle,  and  no  sound  could  awake  him  to 
glory  again."  The  cerebellum  was  out  of  whack  in  1874,  and  the 
climate  at  Willmar  was  too  frigid  to  propagate  cherry  trees. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-TWO. 


John  S.  Pillsbury's  First  Election  as  Governor. 


John  S.  Pillsbury's  original  selection  as  a  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor came  easy.  He  is  the  only  man  who  thus  far  has  held  the 
office  for  three  terms.  It  was  July  28,  1875,  when  the  Republican 
state  convention  met  in  St.  Paul  which  named  him.  The  era  ot 
big  conventions  had  not  dawned,  and  the  delegation  was  based 
on  one  for  each  organized  county  and  one  for  every  400  Repub- 
lican votes.  This  made  a  convention  of  194.  The  late  Dr.  J. 
H.  Stewart  of  St.  Paul  and  ex-Gov.  Horace  Austin  were  also- 
candidates,  and  the  contest  developed  one  of  the  most  pecuHar 
combinations  ever  seen  in  the  state.  Dr.  Stewart  had  been- 
the  life-long  supporter  of  Ramsey  and  had  been  in  position,  while 
mayor  of  St.  Paul,  to  render  some  especially  valuable  services, 
but  still  Ramsey  (then  ex-senator)  supported  Pillsbury  in  that 
contest.  Stranger  still.  Senator  McMillan,  who  had  defeated 
Ramsey  a  few  months  previous  and  had  not  been  backward  in 
going  forward  into  the  anti-Ramsey  camp,  was  also  a  supporter 
of  Pillsbury,  Mr.  Windom,  who  was  then  senator,  also  sup- 
ported Pillsbury,  but  this  was  not  surprising,  as  Windom  and 
Pillsbury  had  always  worked  in  harmony.  But  the  whole  com- 
bination was  an  illustration  that  oil  and  water  will  sometimes 
mix.  H.  B.  Strait  and  M.  H.  Dunnell,  both  members  of  Con- 
gress at  that  time,  supported  Austin,  while  Dr.  Stewart  was 
"backed  by  the  delegates  from  16  counties,"  as  Col.  C.  H.  Graves 
of  Duluth  eloquently  announced  when  presenting  his  name,  but 
his  own  (Ramsey)  county  was  not  one  of  the  16,  though  it  was 
claimed  for  him.  The  county  convention  refused  to  instruct  for 
him,  and  the  delegation  was  apparently  organized  on  the  modern. 

(168) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  151) 

plan  by  being  in  favor  of  Stewart  when  it  became  certain  that 
Pillsbury  could  not  get  it. 

The  convention  was  not  exciting,  and  easily  organized  with 
Hon.  D.  M.  Sabin  for  chairman.  Ramsey  county  had  six  votes 
and  Henenpin  ii,  which  seems  small  now.  But  county  conven- 
tions are  now  larger  in  point  of  numbers  than  was  that  state 
gathering.  There  was  very  little  eloquence  wasted  in  nominating 
speeches.  W.  H.  Yale  of  Winona  presented  Pillsbury's  name, 
William  Knight  of  St.  Peter  presented  Austin's,  and  Colonel 
Graves  of  Duluth  Dr.  Stewart's.  The  entire  presentation  speeches 
did  not  occupy  more  than  ten  minutes.  Pillsbury  was  also  nomi- 
nated on  the  informal  ballot,  the  vote  standing:  Pillsbury  96, 
Austin  58,  Stewart  41.  The  first  formal  ballot  did  the  business 
by  giving  Pillsbury  107  to  55  for  Austin  and  34  for  Stewart. 
Colonel  Graves  announced  that  the  "sixteen  counties"  had 
changed  their  minds,  and  were  now  ready  to  make  it  unanimous. 
Three  terms  followed  for  John  S.  Pillsbury,  and  there  was  even 
talk  of  a  fourth,  but  lest  there  should  be  too  much  of  a  good 
thing,  that  was  not  pressed. 

The  most  notable  thing;  about  this  1875  convention  was  the 
general  new  deal  which  was  inaugurated.  Lieutenant  Governor 
Barto  had  served  but  one  term,  but  J.  B.  Wakefield  of  Faribault 
county  was  named  to  succeed  him.  E.  W.  Dike  had  had  only 
one  term  and  a  fraction,  as  state  treasurer,  but  he  was  turned 
down  in  favor  of  the  Germans,  and  William  Pfaender  of  New 
Ulm  was  chosen.  J.  S.  Irgens  of  Mower  county  kept  up  the 
Scandinavian  succession  and  followed  General  Jennison  as  secre- 
tary of  state,  but  Jennison  had  held  two  terms.  Sam  Nichols  of 
Fergus  Falls  appeared  on  earth  for  the  first  time,  supplanting 
Sherwood  Hough  as  clerk  of  the  supreme  court.  Sam  remained 
on  earth  quite  prominently  in  the  Republican  councils  until  he 
went  West  to  grow  up  with  the  country.  George  P.  Wilson,  as 
attorney  general,  and  O.  P.  Whitcomb,  as  auditor,  were  the  only 
ones  allowed  to  succeed  themselves,  and  in  each  case  it  was  the 
conventional  second  term  which  was  granted.  The  election  was 
merely  the  usual  ratification  meeting. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-THREE. 


Donnelly's  Campaign  for  Congress  as  a  Democrat. 


The  change  of  men  and  measures  in  politics  is  something 
past  finding  out.  The  Second  District  congressional  campaign 
in  Minnesota  in  1870  affords  an  apt  illustration  of  this  statement. 
In  1868  there  had  been  a  split  in  the  Republican  party  in  the  dis- 
trict, Ignatius  Donnelly  being  one  of  the  Republican  nominees, 
and  Gen.  C.  C.  Andrews  the  other,  the  result  being  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Democrat  to  Congress.  In  that  campaign  Gen.  John 
T.  Averill  was  the  fast  friend  and  ardent  supporter  of  Donnelly ; 
in  fact  one  of  the  very  foremost  leaders  in  that  branch  of  the 
campaign.  In  the  early  summer  of  1870  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  tariff  agitation,  and  Mr.  Donnelly  made  a  speech  at  St.  Paul 
and  also  at  Farmington  favoring  a  tariff  for  revenue  only.  While 
this  may  sound  a  little  Democratic  at  the  present  time,  it  was 
really  in  accord  with  the  Republican  sentiment  then  existing. 
At  first  Mr.  Donnelly  planned  to  be  a  candidate  before  the 
Republican  convention  for  the  congressional  nomination  on  his 
tariff  platform.  General  Averill  had  taken  the  field  for  the  nomi- 
nation, and  felt  that,  in  view  of  his  effort  in  1868  for  Donnelly, 
he  should  have  Donnelly's  support.  This  was  utterly  out  of  the 
question,  however,  and  for  a  time  the  only  question  was  whether 
Averill  should  measure  swords  with  Donnelly  in' the  convention 
itself  or  at  the  polls.  Mr.  Donnelly  finally  decided  not  to  enter 
the  Republican  convention,  and,  consequently,  when  that  assem- 
bled on  the  1st  of  September,  no  name  but  General  Averill's  was 
offered,  and  he  was  unanimously  nominated. 

The  great  point  of  the  Republican  convention  was  to  beat 
Donnelly  at  his  own  game  on  the  tariff  question,  and  the  foUow- 

(ifio) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  161 

ing  excerpts  from  the  platform  were  relied  upon  to  do  the  busi- 
ness: 

Resolved,  That  we  expect  and  demand  the  cordial  co-operation  of 
Congress  and  the  executive  in  all  measures  for  a  still  further  retrench- 
ment and  reform  in  every  branch  of  the  public  service,  and  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  taxation  and  the  tariff  to  the  lowest  limits  consistent  with  the 
imperative  revenue  necessities  of  the  government. 

Resolved,  That,  as  the  revenues  necessary  to  the  support  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  maintenance  of  the  public  credit  must  be  largely  derived 
from  duties  on  foreign  fabrics,  a  justly  discriminating  tariff  for  revenue 
should  satisfy  the  legitimate  demands  of  the  business  and  industrial  inter- 
ests of  the  country,  and  that  duties  should  not  be  imposed  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  people  for  the  benefit  of  private  interests  or  monopolies, 
and  we  demand  that,  so  far  as  possible,  the  necessaries  of  life  and  indus- 
try be  placed  upon  the  free  list. 

I  was  publishing  the  St.  Paul  Dispatch  at  that  time,  and,  in 
order  to  show  that  the  Republicans  were  more  opposed  to  pro- 
tection than  the  Democrats,  quoted  the  tariff  planks  in  parallel 
columns,  with  the  tariff  plank  of  the  national  Democratic  plat- 
form of  1866.     This  was  the  Democratic  plank: 

Tariff  for  revenue  and  such  equal  taxation  under  the  internal  revenue 
laws  as  will  afford  incidental  protection  to  domestic  manufacturers  as 
well,  without  impairing  the  revenue  and  impose  the  least  burden  upon 
and  best  promote  and  encourage  the  great  interests  of  the  country. 

The  words  differed  but  little  in  the  platforms,  and  the  prin- 
ciples were  identical,  if  such  a  term  as  principle  can  be  applied  to 
any  political  platform. 

It  is  interesting  to  quote  these  old  platforms  as  showing  the 
changes,  progressive  and  retrograde,  which  political  parties  have 
made  in  the  past  quarter  of  a  century ;  in  fact,  tariff  planks  and 
all  other  planks  in  party  conventions  are  made  to  catch  the  votes 
at  the  time,  so  that  but  little  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  them  or 
their  sincerity. 

When  the  Democratic  congressional  convention  was  called 
to  meet  in  St.  Paul,  September  15th,  Mr.  Donnelly  decided,  at 
the  request  of  some  of  his  old-time  Republican  supporters  of  '68, 
to  be  a  candidate  for  Congress  against  General  Averill.     There 

11 


162  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

probably  was  never  a  greater  display  of  political  ingratitude  than 
this  act,  but  that  cuts  no  figure  when  a  man  is  out  for  an  office. 

The  critical  point  now  was  to  prevent  the  Democrats  making 
any  nomination.  It  was  not  regarded  prudent  to  make  Donnelly 
the  absolute  Democratic  nominee  lest  it  should  alienate  Republi- 
can votes,  and  so  the  plan  was  devised  of  endorsing  his  inde- 
pendent candidacy  without  formally  nominating  him.  In  this 
scheme  Samuel  Mayall,  who  had  been  so  important  a  factor  in 
defeating  Donnelly  in  '68,  took  the  lead,  and  probably  it  was 
owing  more  to  his  efforts  than  to  those  of  any  other  man  that 
the  scheme  succeeded. 

The  Democratic  convention  was  called  to  order  by  William 
Lochren,  now  judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court.  W. 
W.  Phelps  of  Red  Wing  was  made  temporary  chairman,  suc- 
ceeded later  by  General  Sibley  as  permanent  presiding  officer. 
Eugene  Wilson,  Democrat,  who  had  slipped  in  through  the 
split  in  1868,  wrote  a  letter  declining  to  be  a  candidate  for  the 
second  term,  and  MayalPs  platform  worked  to  perfection.  The 
Democrats  resolved  that  in  view  of  the  overwhelming  majority 
in  the  district  they  would  recommend  their  party  to  support  Mr. 
Donnelly's  independent  candidacy  because  he  was  "sound  on  that 
tariff."  This,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  claim  of  the  RepubUcan  Dis- 
patch  that  Averill  was  a  lower  tariff  man  than  Donnelly. 

The  evening  of  the  day  of  the  Democratic  convention  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  in  Ingersoll  hall,  St.  Paul,  to  ratify  Mr.  Don- 
nelly's candidacy.  To  avoid  giving  it  the  air  of  a  Democratic 
gathering,  Samuel  Mayall,  Republican,  presided,  and  a  long  list 
of  Republican  vice  presidents  was  made  up.  Donnelly  made 
his  usual  entertaining  speech.     Here  is  one  passage: 

I  ask  you  to  give  me  your  endorsement  to  say  to  the  world  that 
Elihu  Washburn  is  a  liar  and  a  knave.  I  plant  myself  on  the  platform 
of  Ignatius  Donnelly.  I  appeal  to  the  grand  jury  of  the  people,  and  the 
6,000  majority  I  expect  in  this  district  will  justify  that  appeal. 

Here  is  another  passage : 

The  issue  in  this  canvass  is  Bill  King,  and  the  question  to  solve  is 
whether  the  people  own  the  state,  or  whether  Bill  King  owns  it. 

Donnelly  evidently  felt  that  some  explanation  was  due,  owing 
to  his  being  in  opposition  to  his  former  friend,  General  Averill, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  163 

and  he  stated  that  Averill  had  opposed  him  when  he  wanted  to 
be  governor  the  year  previous,  and  they  had  not  since  been 
friends. 

John  M.  Oilman  and  ex-Governor  Gorman,  simon  pure 
Democrats,  made  the  concluding  speeches,  giving  a  Democratic 
tinge  to  the  meeting.  The  Pioneer  was  at  that  time  the  Demo- 
cratic organ  of  the  state,  and,  while  it  did  not  absolutely  oppose 
Donnelly,  it  damned  him  with  faint  praise.  In  fact  the  greater 
portion  of  the  campaign  it  ignored  him  altogether,  and  devoted 
its  energies  to  an  occasional  shot  at  Averill,  but  chiefly  to  a  war 
on  Windom,  who  was  supposed  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  senate. 

The  St.  Anthony  Democrat  was  especially  rock-rooted  in  its 
political  faith,  and  Ovid  Pinney,  the  editor,  was  so  overcome 
with  the  situation  that  he  published  a  three-column  paragraph 
valedictory  and  retired  from  the  paper.  This  was  a  sentence  in 
his  paragraph : 

Donnelly  is  to  be  buried  so  deep  that  no  resurrection  trump  will 
ever  reach  him,  and  the  Democracy  of  the  district  will  enjoy  the  poor 
satisfaction  of  shedding  their  fruitless  tears  over  his  dishonored  grave. 

As  the  only  claim  Donnelly  had  for  Republican  votes  was 
that  he  was  anti-protection,  while  Averill  could  beat  him  on  this 
issue  and  prove  it  by  the  Republican  platform,  there  seemed  no 
reason  for  a  Republican  defection,  and  still  there  was  considera- 
ble probability  of  that,  owing  to  the  previous  brilliant  campaign 
made  by  Donnelly. 

Donnelly  had  been  especially  strong  in  Ramsey  county,  but 
even  with  the  aid  of  the  Democratic  vote  he  only  carried  it  by  152 
majority.  There  were  at  that  time  but  two  congressional  dis- 
tricts in  the  state,  and  the  Second  district  contained  34  counties, 
making  an  enormous  territory  to  cover  in  a  canvass.  At  the  con- 
clusion the  official  figures  stood: 

Averill    17,183 

Donnelly  I449i 

Averill's  majority  2,692 

Two  years  later  Averill  was  re-elected  by  over  6,000  majority 
over  George  L.  Becker,  straight  Democratic  candidate,  which 
shows  that  Donnelly  made  some  break  in  the  Republican  ranks. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-FOUR. 


Putting  on  the  Garb  of  Statehood. 


When  the  opportunity  for  statehood  came,  Minnesota  was 
not  slow  in  her  movements  to  accelerate  the  event.  The  consti- 
tution proposed  for  the  state  was  adopted  in  October,  1857,  and 
the  legislature  and  state  officers  were  elected  at  the  same  time. 
It  was  absolutely  impossible  for  the  territory  to  undergo  the  tran- 
sition process  without  the  act  of  admission  by  Congress,  although 
the  preliminary  steps  had  been  duly  authorized.  As  that  body 
did  not  meet  until  in  December,  nothing  could  be  hoped  for 
before  that  period.  The  assumed  state  legislature  met  on  Dec. 
2,  1857,  which  was  in  advance  of  the  session  of  Congress,  and 
consequently  it  was  not  in  reality  a  state  legislature,  and  its  acts 
were  in  no  sense  legal  or  obligatory,  except  by  the  common  con- 
sent of  the  people.  H.  H.  Sibley  and  Alexander  Ramsey  had 
been  voted  for  for  governor  at  the  time  the  constitution  was 
adopted,  but  the  election  was  close  and  slow  in  being  returned, 
and  when  the  legislature  met  the  board  provided  by  the  constitu- 
tion had  not  canvassed  the  votes.  Samuel  Medary  was  the  ter- 
ritorial governor,  and  somebody  else  was  the  governor-elect  of 
the  expected  state.  The  territorial  legislature  had  passed  out  of 
existence,  and  here  was  an  assumed  state  legislature  undertaking 
to  do  business  in  a  territory  with  a  non-determined  state  gov- 
ernor elected  and  a  territorial  governor  actually  in  office.  Min- 
nesota was  literally  in  the  condition  of  "What  is  it?"  and  it  was 
only  due  to  the  ambition  of  her  citizens  to  put  on  statehood,  that 
serious  legal  complication  did  not  arise.  One  of  the  early  acts 
of  the  legislature  was  the  recognition  of  Governor  Medary  by 
permitting  him  to  send  his  message  to  the  law-making  body. 
The  Republicans  protested  violently  that  he  was  not  the  governor 

(IW) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  165 

of  the  state  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  legislature  and  should 
not  be  recognized,  but  the  Democrats  were  in  the  ascendancy, 
and  his  message  was  duly  received  and  delivered. 

The  Republicans  in  both  branches  entered  into  a  formal  pro- 
test against  this  action  by  signing  it  and  spreading  it  on  the  jour- 
nals, where  it  remained  as  one  of  the  permanent  state  records. 
The  Republicans  in  the  house  even  went  so  far  as  to  protest 
against  the  entire  legislature,  but  the  triumphant  Democracy 
went  right  along  with  business  just  as  though  the  state  had  been 
admitted,  and  before  the  session  was  many  days  old  James  Star- 
key  of  St.  Paul  introduced  a  bill  providing  for  the  election  of  two 
United  States  senators  on  the  23d  of  December.  As  a  matter 
of  form,  two  days  were  occupied  in  passing  the  bill  through  the 
house,  and  when  it  reached  the  senate  it  was  amended  to  make 
the  election  on  the  19th  and  put  through  in  a  single  day.  The 
house  promptly  concurred,  and,  whether  state  or  not,  arrange- 
ments for  the  senatorial  election  were  pushed  rapidly  forward. 

The  legislature  stood:  Senate,  21  Democrats,  17  Republi- 
cans ;  the  house,  43  Democrats,  37  Republicans.  This  gave  the 
Democrats  a  majority  of  10  on  joint  ballot ;  and  under  the  state 
law  just  passed,  approved  by  the  territorial  government,  there 
was  no  voting  of  the  separate  bodies  on  the  question.  All  inter- 
est, therefore,  centered  in  the  Democratic  caucus.  It  was  held 
on  the  evening  of  December  17th  at  the  Fuller  House  in  St.  Paul, 
a  hotel  which  was  later  called  the  International,  and  finally 
destroyed  by  fire.  Sixty-one  were  present,  making  32  necessary 
for  a  choice.  The  first  ballot  bore  fruit  by  one  nomination,  the 
vote  standing  as  follows: 

H.  M.  Rice  of  St.  Paul 56 

James  Shields  of  Rice  county 25 

Frank  Steele  of  Mendota 17 

Willis  A.  Gorman  of  St.  Paul 15 

Joseph  R.  Gorman  of  St,  Paul 8 

It  required  three  more  ballots  to  make  the  second  selection, 
the  vote  standing  as  follows: 

2d  Ballot.      3d  Ballot.  4th  Ballot. 

Shields    24  26  S3 

Steele  25  24  28 

Gorman  12  11 


166  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

This  gave  Shields  the  nomination  for  the  second  senator. 
Though  the  RepubHcans  knew  their  case  was  hopeless,  they 
nominated  David  Cooper  of  St.  Paul  and  Henry  D.  Huff  of 
Winona.  At  the  election  on  December  19th  Rice  was  first 
elected,  receiving  66  votes  to  50  for  Cooper,  two  Democrats 
being  absent  and  four  Republicans  voting  for  Rice. 

For  the  second  senatorship  the  vote  stood  Shields  61,  Huff 
54.  That  night,  which  was  Saturday,  the  Democrats  jubilated 
over  the  victory  very  heavily.  One  hotel  did  not  afford  suffi- 
cient facilities  for  their  superabundance  of  joy.  They  first  had 
a  spread  at  the  old  American  House,  on  the  corner  of  Third  and 
Exchange  streets,  where  Col.  D.  A.  Robertson,  ex-Governor  Gor- 
man, W.  W.  Phelps  and  others  made  congratulatory  speeches. 
From  there  they  adjourned  to  the  Fuller  House,  which  was  the 
swell  hotel  of  the  town,  where  a  formal  banquet  was  given,  and 
Senators  Rice  and  Shields,  Governors  Medary  and  Gorman, 
George  L.  Becker  and  a  host  of  lesser  lights  ''made  Rome  howl." 

No  record  has  been  preserved  and  handed  down  of  any  church 
services  in  the  town  the  next  day,  but  it  is  fair  to  presume  that 
the  RepubHcans  were  sufficiently  mad  and  disconsolate  in  their 
defeat  to  attend  divine  worship.  It  is  pretty  certain  that  the 
other  fellows  were  not  particular  whether  church  kept  open  or 
not,  so  long  as  the  other  places  were  open. 

While  the  so-called  state  legislature  could  go  ahead  and  elect 
senators,  it  could  not  seat  them  at  Washington,  and,  though  the 
action  stood,  it  was  five  months  later,  May  12,  1858,  before  the 
state  was  actually  admitted  and  they  became  senators.  There 
was  a  long  and  short  term,  and  Rice  and  Shields  cast  lots  as  to 
who  should  serve  the  respective  terms.  Rice  won  the  long  term 
and  served  until  March  3,  1863,  while  Shields  retired  March  3, 
1859,  with  less  than  ten  months'  service.  It  was  quite  appro- 
priate that  he  should  have  the  short  period,  as  he  was  a  recent 
comer  to  the  state,  while  Mr.  Rice  had  settled  here  in  1849  ^"^ 
served  as  a  delegate  from  the  territory  in  Congress  from  Dec.  5, 
1853,  to  March  4,  1857. 

Shields  had  one  of  the  most  multitudinous  military  and  polit- 
ical careers  of  any  man  that  this  country  has  ever  known. 
Reaching  the  United  States  from  Ireland  when  16  years  of  age, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  167 

he  settled  in  Illinois,  where  he  served  in  the  legislature,  was  state 
auditor  and  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  later  commissioner 
of  the  general  land  office.  After  serving  in  the  Mexican  war  he 
was  appointed  governor  of  Oregon,  but  before  he  could  take  his 
seat  Illinois  elected  him  to  the  United  States  senate,  and  he  aban- 
doned the  governorship.  Here  occurred  a  very  peculiar  circum- 
stance. He  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate  March  6. 
1849,  but  discovered  that  he  was  ineligible  from  lack  of  citizen- 
ship, and  a  few  days  later  resigned.  An  extra  session  of  the  Illi- 
nois legislature  was  called  in  the  fall  when  the  defect  had  been 
removed,  when  he  was  again  elected,  this  time  serving  until  the 
3d  of  March,  1855. 

His  next  move  was  to  Minnesota,  where  he  founded  Shields- 
ville  in  Rice  county,  and  was  sent  to  the  senate  from  this  state 
as  already  recorded.  When  his  short  term  had  about  expired 
he  moved  to  California,  served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  to 
1863,  when  he  retired  from  the  army  and  settled  in  Missouri. 
His  usual  fortune  seemed  to  follow  him  to  that  state,  as  Louis 
V.  Bogy,  one  of  the  senators  from  Missouri,  conveniently  died ; 
and,  while  the  governor  placed  another  man  in  line  of  promo- 
tion by  a  temporary  appointment,  when  the  legislature  met 
Shields  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  served  in  the  senate 
from  Missouri  from  January  27th  to  March  3,  1879.  This  ended 
his  public  career,  and  June  ist  of  the  same  year  he  died  at 
Ottumwa,  Iowa.  A  United  States  senator  from  three  different 
states,  with  a  double  election  from  one  of  them,  for  a  single 
term,  a  general  in  two  wars,  is  a  record  which,  I  believe,  no  other 
man  has  made  but  James  Shields,  one  of  the  first  senators  from 
Minnesota. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-FIVE. 


The  First  Republican  Senator,  Morton  S.  Wilkinson. 


The  first  Republican  United  States  senator  elected  from  Min- 
nesota was  Morton  S.  Wilkinson  of  Mankato.  He  was  elected 
on  Dec.  i6,  1859.  ^^^  legislature  was  overwhelmingly  Repub- 
lican. Though  the  Democrats  at  the  preceding  legislature  had 
elected  two  United  States  senators,  their  cause  was  hopeless  in 
the  second  legislature,  and.  Senator  Sliields'  short  term  expiring, 
the  Republicans  took  their  innings.  The  great  contest  was,  as 
usual,  in  the  Republican  caucus.  David  Cooper  of  St.  Paul  was 
the  candidate  of  Northern  Minnesota;  in  fact  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Anthony  (now  Minneapolis  East)  pretty  nearly  comprised  the 
northern  line  of  the  state  so  far  as  population  was  concerned. 
Southern  Minnesota  had  Daniel  S.  Norton  of  Winona  and  Mor- 
ton S.  Wilkinson  of  Mankato  as  candidates,  while  Charles 
McClure  of  Red  Wing  might  be  counted  as  representing  the 
central  portion  of  the  state.  The  St.  Croix  region  of  the  state 
was  especially  zealous  for  Cooper,  Hennepin  county  moderately 
so,  although  there  was  a  little  chill  in  their  affections,  owing  to 
Cooper's  residence  in  St.  Paul.  It  took  two  evenings  to  deter- 
mine the  nominee.  The  first  night,  December  14th,  there  were 
some  10  or  12  ballots  in  the  caucus,  which  was  held  in  the  house 
of  representatives.  Wilkinson  led,  with  Cooper,  Norton  and 
McClure  following  in  the  order  named.  The  votes  were  so  divided 
that  no  one  had  a  majority,  and,  after  a  long  time  spent  in  bal- 
loting, an  adjournment  was  effected  until  the  next  night.  A 
deadlock  resulted  in  bringing  three  aspirants  to  the  front.  Gen. 
John  B.  Sanborn,  who  was  a  member  of  the  house,  was  urged 
by  his  friends  to  take  the  field,  and  said  that  if  he  could  secure 

(168) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  1G9 

the  Hennepin  delegation  he  would  do  so,  but  wished  to  ascertain 
that  fact  before  he  decided.  A  caucus  of  the  Hennepin  dele- 
gation was  therefore  called.  On  the  morning  after  the  first 
caucus  an  agreement  was  made  that  when  their  votes  would  turn 
the  scale  for  Sanborn  he  should  have  them.  Under  these  circum- 
tances  Sanborn  entered  the  race.  Amos  Coggswell  of  Steele 
county,  who  was  speaker  of  the  house,  took  charge  of  Sanborn's 
campaign,  and  the  next  night  Sanborn  took  Cooper's  place  as 
the  leading  competitor  of  Wilkinson.  Norton  and  IMcClure 
still  stayed  in  the  race,  the  former  having  some  lo  or  12  votes, 
but  never  enough  to  be  very  formidable.  The  southern  part  of 
the  state  was  greatly  interested  in  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter  Rail- 
road, and  as  the  northern  portion  had  a  railroad  scheme  inimical 
to  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter  project  it  made  the  two  sections  of 
the  state  arrayed  against  each  other.  There  were  ten  more  bal- 
lots the  second  night,  and  44  votes  were  declared  necessary  for 
a  choice.  This  was  a  majority  of  all  the  Republican  members  of 
the  legislature,  and  while  there  were  several  absentees  from  the 
caucus  it  was  agreed  that  the  successful  man  must  have  a  major- 
ity of  all  to  elect.  When  Sanborn  began  moving  up  near  the 
danger  point  of  success,  Southern  Minnesota  took  the  alarm, 
and  Winona,  which  had  been  supporting  Norton,  turned  to  Wil- 
kinson, and  on  the  last  ballot  Wilkinson  received  45  to  30  for 
Sanborn.  If  the  Hennepin  delegation  had  kept  to  their  caucus 
agreement  the  result  might  have  been  different,  but  when  their 
votes  could  have  settled  the  matter  for  Sanborn  one  of  the  dele- 
gation refused  to  abide  by  the  caucus  and  stirred  up  sufficient 
ill-feeling  to  prevent  the  vote  going  for  him. 

Another  distinguishing  element,  so  far  as  Sanborn's  candi- 
dacy was  concerned,  was  that  Coggswell, the  leader  of  his  forces, 
became  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  deadlock  might  be  con- 
tinued until  he  (Coggswell)  could  be  thrown  into  the  breach. 
He  accordingly  advised  Sanborn  against  consulting  and  if  pos- 
sible making  an  alliance  with  William  Mitchell  of  Winona, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  house  and  a  leader  of  the  Norton 
forces.  Mitchell  was  especially  looking  after  the  railroad  in- 
terests of  Southern  Minnesota,  and  as  Northern  Minnesota 
made  no  overtures  he  naturally  stood  by  the  locality  from 
whence  he  hailed. 


170  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

An  amusing  story  told  at  the  time  was  that  about  the  only 
man  in  town  who  had  any  ready  cash  thought  the  senatorship 
might  come  into  the  open  market.  He  accordingly  put  $7,000 
in  currency  in  his  safe  and  gave  the  key  to  a  friend,  with 
instructions  to  put  the  money  where  it  would  do  the  most  good 
if  the  opportunity  arose.  The  man  took  the  key  to  the  safe,  but 
never  mentioned  the  candidacy  of  his  friend,  so  that  his  name 
was  unknown  in  the  race.  For  a  few  hours  the  wealthy  citizen 
labored  under  the  delusion  that  he  had  played  the  winning  card. 
He  was  considerably  chagrined  after  the  afTair  was  over  to  ascer- 
tain that  his  friend  had  a  lightning  rod  up  for  himself;  but  he 
evened  the  deal  to  some  extent  by  saying,  "He  (the  friend) 
thought  he  was  pretty  smart,  but  I  gave  him  the  wrong  key." 

In  those  days  the  use  of  money  on  such  an  occasion  had  not 
been  dreamed  of,  and  I  doubt  whether  any  sum  could  have  pur- 
chased a  senatorship  at  that  time.  Still  there  was  absolutely 
no  money  in  circulation.  The  members  of  the  legislature  only 
received  $3  per  day,  and  that  was  paid  in  state  warrants  which 
brought  but  65  cents  on  the  dollar  when  placed  on  the  market.  A 
friend  of  the  late  Senator  Wilkinson,  who  is  still  living,  then  a 
resident  of  Mankato,  tells  me  that  he  bought  Wilkinson  a  suit 
of  clothes  to  wear  when  he  came  to  the  legislature,  and  that  the 
entire  wealth  of  the  Mankota  crowd  when  it  started  for  St.  Paul 
to  capture  the  senatorship  only  amounted  to  $45.  The  man 
who  had  bought  Wilk's  suit  had  exhausted  his  own  resources 
and  had  to  remain  home.  It  is  hardly  surprising  that  in  the 
midst  of  such  financial  destitution  it  should  have  seemed  that 
the  prize  might  have  a  financial  determination.  At  least  it  does 
not  seem  surprising  in  the  light  of  these  modern  days.  But  1859 
was  a  good  while  ago.  And  still  at  the  present  time  $7,000  would 
be  considered  a  very  meager  sum  for  a  United  States  senatorship, 
even  if  the  man  had  the  right  key. 

The  election  took  place  in  joint  session  of  the  legislature 
Dec.  16,  1859,  and  resulted  in  Wilkinson  receiving  79  votes, 
James  Shields  (Democrat)  33,  and  ex-Gov.  W.  A.  Gorman 
(Democrat)  i.  And  thus  the  first  Republican  senator  from  Min- 
nesota came  into  being.  At  the  end  of  his  six  years'  term  Mr. 
Wilkinson  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  S.  Norton  of  Winona  whose 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  171 

friends  had  come  to  him  in  1859.  He  subsequently  served  a 
term  in  the  house  from  1869  to  1871,  and  still  later  he  was  state 
senator,  but  his  marked  public  career  ended  with  the  United 
States  senatorship. 

As  showing  what  results  may  follow  from  a  man  being  a 
member  of  the  legislature  which  elects  a  United  States  senator, 
it  can  be  recorded  that  in  the  legislature  which  elected  Wilkin- 
son, J.  H.  Stewart  and  John  T.  Averill,  who  were  in  that  legis- 
lature, became  members  of  congress ;  R.  N.  McLaren  was  for 
many  years  assessor  of  internal  revenue  and  United  States  mar- 
shal ;  C.  D.  Sherwood  became  Heutenant  governor ;  John  B. 
Sanborn  a  general  in  the  army ;  A.  J.  Van  Vorhes  clerk  of  the 
state  supreme  court;  William  Pfaender,  state  treasurer;  F.  A. 
Renz,  treasurer  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul  for  many  years ;  A.  J. 
Edgerton,  United  States  senator  from  Minnesota  and  United 
States  district  judge  for  Dakota ;  William  Mitchell,  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  of  this  state ;  C.  C.  Andrews,  minister  to  Sweden 
12  years  and  consul  to  Rio  Janeiro  4  years ;  Henry  C.  Rogers, 
United  States  pension  agent ;  L.  K.  Aker,  register  of  a  land  office. 
And  if  the  laws  of  nature  had  not  compelled  a  good  many  to  go 
under  the  ground,  probably  all  the  rest  of  the  members  of  that 
legislature  would  have  been  reached  in  due  season  with  a  fat 
thing.  As  an  incentive  to  humble  citizens  to  secure  seats  in  a 
legislature  which  elects  United  States  senators  this  history  is 
worth  the  price. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-SIX. 


Wm.  S.  King's  Election  to   Congress  and  the  Pacific  Mail 

Scandal. 


The  congressional  campaign  in  the  Third  district,  in  1874,. 
was  notable  for  several  reasons,  but  more  especially  from  the  fact 
that  WilHam  S.  King,  one  of  the  most  stalwart  characters,  who 
ever  appeared  in  Minnesota  politics,  was  a  candidate  to  succeed 
Gen.  John  T.  Averill,  who  had  served  two  terms. 

King  had  been  postmaster  of  the  house  of  representatives  in 
Washington  and  was  credited  with  having  made  large  sums  of 
money.  Whether  that  was  true  or  not  he  expended  large  sums 
of  money  in  the  canvass.  I  was  then  publishing  the  Dispatch,, 
and  of  course  in  opposition  to  King — not  on  any  personal 
grounds,  but  he  was  part  of  the  Ramsey  dynasty,  and  as  Ramsey 
was  due  to  come  up  in  the  winter  of  1875  ^s  a  candidate  for  his- 
third  term  as  United  States  senator,  it  would  be  a  great  assist- 
ance to  him  to  have  the  members  of  Congress  in  his  favor.  These 
pages  have  already  shown  the  selfish  interest  I  had  in  deteating 
the  Ramsey  dynasty ;  and  still  events  transpired  which  affected 
Mr.  King  which  I  little  dreamed  of  when  the  contest  began. 

In  1867  Congress  granted  an  annual  subsidy  of  $500,000  ta 
the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Line  as  a  bonus  for  carrying  the  gov- 
ernment mails.  In  1872  an  effort  was  made  to  increase  this  sub- 
sidy to  a  million  dollars  per  annum,  and  it  passed  the  house  of 
representatives  by  no  to  87.  There  were  very  plump  charges 
of  corruption  in  the  purchase  of  votes  to  secure  the  passage  of 
the  bill,  etc.  Samuel  Randall  of  Pennsylvania,  then  a  Demo- 
cratic leader  in  Congress,  and  very  influential,  was  quite  emphatic 
in  making  these  charges.  He  was  a  national  character,  and 
charges  from  such  a  source  could  scarcely  be  ignored.     The  con~ 

(172) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  173 

sequence  was  that  the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  with  Dawes 
of  Massachusetts  as  chairman,  was  directed  to  investigate  the 
subject  of  bribery  in  connection  with  the  Pacific  Mail  subsidy  bill. 
At  the  outset  this,  seemingly,  had  nothing  to  do  with  Mr.  King, 
but  as  time  wore  on  stories  began  to  appear  in  some  Eastern 
papers  that  the  Pacific  Mail  fund  had  been  largely  disbursed 
through  Mr.  King,  postmaster  of  the  house  of  representatives. 
These  stories  did  not  become  public  until  he  had  been  elected  and 
was  a  member  of  Congress  elect  from  the  Third  district  in  Min- 
nesota, due  to  take  his  seat  on  the  4th  of  March,  1875. 

While  I  had  incidentally  noted  some  of  these  charges,  it  was 
not  until  the  issue  of  the  Dispatch  of  Monday,  Dec.  21,  1874, 
that  I  really  got  into  the  matter. 

Mr.  R.  B.  Irwin  was  credited  with  being  the  man  that 
handled  the  Pacific  Mail  affairs  in  Washington,  and  there  had 
already  been  traced  to  him  a  sum  of  $750,000,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  was  accusea  of  having  pocketed  most  of  it  himself.  He 
had  already  testified  before  the  ways  and  means  committee,  and 
of  course  exonerated  all  members  of  Congress  and  everybody 
else,  though  he  did  not  deny  that  he  had  received  large  sums  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  the  interests  of  the  bill.  He  finally 
refused  to  answer  any  more  questions  and  was  in  contempt  or 
in  prison.  On  the  date  mentioned  at  this  stage  of  the  investiga- 
tion I  published  the  following  article  in  the  Dispatch: 

As  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  at  Washington  appear  to  be 
baffled  by  Irwin's  refusal  on  Saturday  to  tell  to  whom  he  paid  the  im- 
mense Pacific  Mail  corruption  fund,  the  Dispatch  finds  it  necessary  to 
come  to  the  rescue  and  supply  the   missing  link. 

A  prominent  gentleman  in  this  city,  whose  name  will  be  furnished 
to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  if  they  desire,  relates  an  incident 
which  he  obtained  about  the  time  of  the  occurence  from  first  hands  in 
New  York. 

In  the  spring  of  1872,  Irwin,  the  lobby  agent  of  the  Pacific  Mail, 
kept  a  small  personal  account  at  the  Metropolitan  Bank  of  New  York. 
It  was  unusual  for  him  to  have  over  $1,000  on  deposit  at  a  time.  One 
morning  as  the  president  of  the  bank  came  in,  he  noticed  Irwin  doing 
some  business  with  the  receiving  teller.  In  a  few  minutes  the  teller 
appeared  in  the  president's  room  to  inform  him  that  Irwin  had  just 
deposited  a  check  or  draft  for  $500,000. 

"But  you  didn't  receive  it?"  said  the  astonished  president. 


174  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

"Certainly,  I  did,"  said  the  teller.  "He  is  a  regular  customer,  and  I 
didn't  suppose  I  had  any  right  to  refuse." 

"There  is  something  wrong  about  that,"  said  the  president;  "that 
money  will  be  called  for  to-morrow  before  we  have  time  to  make  the 
collection.     You  never  should  have  accepted  such  a  check  from  him." 

The  next  day  came,  but  no  demand  was  made  for  the  money. 
Several  days  followed,  but  still  the  half-million  deposit  remained  good. 
Finally  a  stranger  entered  the  bank  with  a  check  for  $125,000  of  the 
deposit  drawn  to  Irwin's  order,  and  endorsed  by  Irwin. 

"What  name?"  said  the  paying  teller,  as  the  stranger  handed  in  the 
check. 

"No  name  is  necessary,"  replied  the  stranger  'Don't  you  recognize 
the  signature  and  endorsement?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  teller,  "but  I  cannot  pay  so  large  a  check 
without  knowing  to  whom  I  am  making  payment." 

"Isn't  the  check  good  for  the  amount?"  asked  the  stranger. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  teller. 

"Then,  I  want  the  money  on  it,"  said  the  stranger,  "and  I  won't 
give  my  name  either." 

The  teller  still  declined  to  pay  without  a  name,  and  referred  the 
stranger  to  the  higher  bank  officers.  The  stranger  entered  the  presi- 
dent's office  and  called  his  attention  to  the  conduct  of  the  teller.  The 
president  examined  the  check  and  declared  that  the  teller  was  right, 
and  that  though  the  check  was  good,  so  large  a  sum  could  not  be  paid 
without  the  name  of  the  party  presenting  it.  The  stranger  persisted  m 
remaining  incog,  and,  notifying  the  president  that  he  would  give  him 
until  the  next  day  to  pay  the  check,  retired. 

A  bank  messenger  was  sent  to  follow  the  stranger  and  ascertain  if 
possible  who  he  was.  The  messenger  followed  him  to  the  Pacific  Mail 
office,  but  returned  without  ascertaining  his  name,  and  reported  progress. 

The  next  morning  the  stranger  appeared  in  the  president's  office 
and  demanded  payment  again. 

"Do  you  want  currency,  or  will  a  check  of  the  bank  answer?"  asked 
the  president. 

The  stranger  said  that  as  he  was  going  to  deposit  it  in  a  bank  where 
he  had  an  account,  a  check  would  be  satisfactory. 

The  president  of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  then  drew  the  desired 
check,  and  the  stranger  departed  without  giving  his  name. 

Again  the  bank  messenger  followed,  and  this  time  traced  the 
stranger  to  the  Park  Bank  where  he  made  the  deposit.  The  messenger, 
taking  one  of  the  Park  Bank  officers  aside,  asked: 

"Do  you  know  who  that  gentleman  is  making  the  deposit?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  was  the  reply;  "that  is  Mr.  King,  postmaster  of  the 
House  of  Representatives." 

The  Dispatch  gives  the  story  without  adornment,  simply  as  it  was 
related  by  one  of  the  parties  interested  in  the  matter  to  a  reliable  and 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  175 

trustworthy  gentleman  now  a  resident  of  St.  Paul.  There  is  a  possi- 
bility that  one  of  the  banks  is  incorrectly  named,  but  aside  from  that  the 
story    is    as    originally    told. 

The  ways  and  means  committee  here  have  a  clew  which  they 
can  work  up  if  they  choose  and  obtain  the  information  which 
Irwin  refused  to  divulge. 

It  perhaps  should  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  that  the 
Saturday  previous  to  the  publication  of  this  article,  which  was 
on  Monday,  Irwin  had  suffered  an  attack  of  nervous  prostra- 
tion whf.le  before  the  ways  and  means  committee  and  could  not 
go  on  with  his  testimony. 

The  article  in  the  Dispatch  was  duly  telegraphed  to  the  New 
York  Sun,  and  when  the  Sun  reached  Washington  it  was  the 
m/ost  sought-for  paper  in  all  the  city,  and  created  a  veritable  sen- 
sation. 

Mr.  Dawes,  the  chairman  of  the  i-ays  and  means  committee, 
rose  in  his  seat  and  presented  a  medical  certificate  stating  that 
Richard  B.  Irwin,  a  witness  in  the  Pacific  Mail  investigation, 
was  in  no  physical  condition  to  present  himself  at  the  bar  of  the 
house  or  to  be  subjected  to  any  mental  excitement. 

This  was  in  response  to  an  effort  to  bring  Irwin  to  the  bar 
of  the  house  in  contempt  for  refusing  to  answer  questions. 

Mr.  Dawes,  the  chairman  of  the  ways  and  means  committee, 
tee  on  ways  and  means  to  hold  sessions  in  New  York  in  connec- 
tion with  the  investigation.  The  investigation  proceeded,  the 
committee  went  to  New  York,  and  in  their  published  report  duly 
verified  the  original  story  of  the  Dispatch,  which  was  the  first 
publicity  given  to  that  occurrence.  Mr.  King  claimed  that  he 
had  favored  the  Pacific  Mail  scheme  in  order  to  get  aid  for  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  in  which  all  the  Northwest  was  greatly 
interested  at  that  time.  He  also  conceded  that  he  had  received 
money  from  the  Pacific  Mail  Company  for  services,  but  denied 
very  emphatically  that  he  had  given  a  dollar  to  any  member  of 
Congress.  He  had  given  this  testimony  before  the  ways  and 
means  committee  prior  to  the  publication  of  the  article  in  the 
Dispatch,  but  after  that  article  Mr.  King  suddenly  disappeared 
and  could  not  be  found.  No  process  could  be  served  upon  him 
summoning  him  as  a  witness  because  he  could  not  be  found.     It 


176  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  reported  in  the  New  York  papers  that  he  had  gone  to 
Europe  and  would  not  return  until  spring,  after  Congress  had 
adjourned.  Subsequent  developments  showed  that  he  had  not 
gone  to  Europe,  but  that  he  went  to  Canada  instead,  where  he 
spent  the  winter  selecting  fancy  live  stock  for  his  farm  in  Min- 
neapolis. 

There  were  loud  and  insistent  demands  on  the  part  of  the 
Minnesota  people  that  their  member-of-congress-elect  should 
appear  and  purge  himself  of  what  seemed  to  be  pretty  strong- 
evidence  against  him,  but  William  was  impervious  and  preferred 
life  in  Canada  to  being  under  the  protection  of  the  American 
flag. 

The  legislature  was  in  session  that  winter,  and  on  the  29th  of 
January  Mr.  Wm.  S.  Crooks  arose  in  the  house  and  ofifered  the 
following  preamble  and  resolution: 


Whereas,  The  proceedings  now  pending  at  Washington  in  the 
matter  known  as  the  Pacific  Mail  corruption  investigation,  point  to  the 
Hon.  William  S.  King  as  one  who,  as  an  officer  of  the  National  House 
of  Representatives,  accepted  money  as  a  consideration  for  his  services 
in  aiding  the  passage  of  the  subsidy  bill  to  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company;  and, 

Whereas,  Mr.  King,  having  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Forty- 
fourth  Congress  from  the  Third  District  of  this  state,  the  people  feel 
that  his  usefulness  will  be  greatly  impaired  and  dishonor  cast  upon  the 
escutcheon  of  Minnesota  unless  he  at  once  rectifies  his  position; 

Therefore,  be  it  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  Minnesota  in  legisla- 
ture assembled  demand  of  Mr.  King  his  immediate  appearance  before  the 
investigating  committee  in  Washington  City,  and  that  he  there  state 
to  said  committee  what  has  been  his  connection  with  this  great  national 
scandal,  and  thereby  vindicate  himself;  or,  failing  therein,  to  place  his 
resignation  as  representative  of  this  commonwealth  in  the  hands  of  the 
governor. 


The  resolution  went  over  until  the  next  day  on  notice  of 
debate.  The  next  day  Mr.  Burchard  moved  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution.  Loren  Fletcher  of  Minneapolis  moved  to  indefinitely 
postpone.  This  was  refused,  Messrs.  Fletcher  and  Listoe  being 
the  only  members  who  voted  to  indefinitely  postpone.  The 
resolution  was  then  adopted. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  177 

Mr.  King  had  designed  to  spend  the  winter,  or  a  portion  of 
it,  in  St.  Paul,  working  for  the  re-election  of  Senator  Ramsey  for 
the  third  term.  He  had  secured  headquarters  at  the  Metropol- 
itan Hotel,  but  he  did  not  occupy  them.  Regardless  of  what 
might  come  from  the  investigation,  I  considered  that  I  had  scored 
a  great  hit  by  keeping  King  out  of  the  senatorial  canvass  and 
thus  taken  a  long  step  towards  nailing  down  the  lid  on  my 
friend  Ramsey,  and  I  took  much  more  interest  in  this  than  I 
did  in  the  exposure  of  King,  as  I  had  no  personal  desire  to  make 
him  any  trouJDle  or  discomfiture.  But  as  it  was  subsequent  to 
the  pension  agency  episode  it  all  came  in  along  the  line  of  my 
general  life  policy,  as  it  made  sure-enough  mischief  I  was  con- 
tent. 

Of  course  no  one  supposed  that  King  would  resign,  and 
instead  of  complying  with  the  requests  of  the  legislature  he  sent 
them  in  due  time  a  letter,  which  read  as  follows : 


To  the  Legislature  of  Minnesota: 

Gentlemen  Senators  and  Representatives:  It  has  been  my  good 
fortune  to  come  into  possession  of  a  copy  of  certain  **Joir»t  Resolutions" 
relating  to  myself,  which  resolutions  are  said  to  have  been  passed  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  30th  day  of  January  last,  and  by  the 
Senate  on  the  5th  day  of  February,  1875. 

Aside  from  any  bearing  these  Joint  Resolutions  may  have  upon 
myself,  they  are,  as  coming  from  your  body,  very  extraordinary  in  their 
character.  They  are,  gentlemen,  very  extraordinary  in  so  far  as  they 
so  correctly  illustrate  your  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  common  proprieties 
and  decencies  of  official  position,  of  your  painful  disregard  of  truth,  m 
your  official  action,  and  of  your  false  and  hypocritical  pretenses  of 
virtuous  regard  for  the  "honor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota."  In  dealing 
with  you  and  your  joint  resolutions,  therefore,  I  shall,  gentlemen,  speak 
of  you  as  I  know  and  understand  you,  paying  no  regard  whatever  to 
that  official  greatness  you  so  pompously  assume  during  the  brief  sixty 
days  allotted  you,  wherein  to  fit  and  complete  yourselves  for  that  under- 
lying political  fame  and  immortality  which  each  of  you,  no  doubt,  sup- 
poses himself  to  have  been  born  to. 

As  for  your  joint  resolution,  gentlemen,  in  which  you  so  indecently 
assume  the  falsehood  that  I  "accepted  money  as  a  consideration  for  his 

12 


178  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

(my)  services  in  aiding  the  passage  of  the  subsidy  bill  to  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  Company,"  they  are,  interpreted  in  other  and  more 
common  language,  legislative  lies.  They  are  lies  in  a  double  sense,  inas- 
much as  they  not  only  charge  me,  by  the  broadest  implication,  with 
having  "accepted  money  for  my  services,"  etc.,  but  in  asserting,  also, 
by  that  same  broad  implication,  that  I  have  refused  to  appear  before  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  to  testify  as  to  my  connection  with  and 
knowledge  of  the  passage  of  the  Pacific  Mail  subsidy  bill.  For  I  now 
again  assert  what  I  two  years  ago  truthfully  stated  under  oath,  that  I 
never  "accepted"  or  received  one  dollar  as  "consideration  for  my 
services  in  aiding  the  passage"  of  that  bill,  while  I  took  great  pleasure 
in  appearing  before  the  committee,  at  the  very  opening  of  this  investi- 
gation, and  testifying  fully  as  to  all  I  know  concerning  the  matter. 

Therefore,  it  is,  gentlemen  of  the  legislature,  that  I  thus  distinctly 
charge  you  with  having  spread  upon  the  records  of  your  respective 
houses  flagrant  and  audacious  falsehoods  concerning  myself,  an  act 
which,  to  use  your  own  language,  is  calculated  to  ''cast  dishonor  upon  the 
escutcheon  of  Minnesota,"  unless  you  shall  have  the  decency  to  "at  once 
rectify  your  positions"  by  expunging  these  disgraceful  falsehoods  from 
your  journals. 

But,  gentlemen,  who  are  you,  and  what  are  you,  that  you  thus 
pompously  set  yourselves  up  as  my  masters  and  assume  to  instruct  me, 
a  private  citizen  (for  I  am  only  such,  as  yet),  in  this  or  any  other  mat- 
ter? Who  constituted  you  either  my  masters  or  my  judges,  that  you 
thus  impudently  presume  to  issue  instructions  to  me,  and  impose  penal- 
ties for  non-compliance  with  your  insolent  demands?  Make  hasty 
answer,  I  pray  you,  for  almost  before  this  letter  can  reach  you,  you  will 
have  disappeared  into  that  position  of  "nothingness"  from  which  you 
were  only  lifted  by  one  of  those  political  accidents  of  annual  occurrence 
in  our  state.  And  the  only  reply  I  have  to  make  to  the  impudent  de- 
mands of  your  joint  resolution  is,  that  in  this,  as  in  all  other  matters, 
my  action  will  be  governed  by  my  own  sense  of  duty,  of  right,  and  of 
propriety. 

Under  what  arrangement  /  did  receive  a  large  sum  of  money,  about 
the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Pacific  Mail  subsidy  bill,  is  a  matter  which 
I  do  not  propose  to  disclose  to  the  world  except  in  my  own  good  time, 
nor  until  evidence  which  I  am  unable  to  reach  now  can  be  secured,  to  the 
end  that  the  exact  facts  in  the  case  can  be  presented  to  the  public, 
which  will  meet  the  fullest  and  most  complete  vindication  against  the 
falsehoods  which  you  have  spread  upon  your  respective  journals.  Until 
that  time,  which  I  trust  is  not  far  distant,  I  have  only  to  say  that  not 
one  dollar  of  the  money  received  by  me,  of  which  so  much  has  been 
talked  and  written,  was  ever  intended  for  or  applied  to  the  influencing 
of  a  vote  upon  the  Pacific  Mail  subsidy,  and  no  word  or  line  of  all  the 
evidence  that  has  been  taken  during  this  long  and  most  searching 
investigation  even  "points"  to  any  such  conclusion.     And  so.  conscious 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  179 

of  my  own  rectitude  in  this  matter,  and  pausing  here  to  tender  to  that 
one  representative  who  was  just  enough  towards  me  to  refuse  his 
assent  to  your  lying  declarations  my  grateful  thanks,  I  pass  on  to  some 
other  points,  which  I  propose  to  present  to  your  and  the  public's  con- 
sideration. 

In  perusing  the  proceedings  of  your  very  distinguished  body  (and 
the  farther  away  from  home  its  name  goes  the  more  "distinguished" 
it  becomes)  upon  this  matter,  I  notice  that  in  the  presentation,  discus- 
sion and  adoption  of  these  "Joint  Resolutions"  very  many  of  you  spoke 
and  voted  as  my  "friends."  Even  the  gentleman  who  introduced  the 
resolutions  into  the  house  and  demanded  such  hasty  and  immediate 
action  upon  them,  though  a  political  opponent,  professed  to  speak  and 
act  "in  no  partizan  spirit"  but  "as  a  personal  friend."  Let  me  not  be  so 
ungrateful  as  to  intimate  that  this  statement  was  not  more  false  or 
"crooked"  than  are  the  resolutions  themselves.  For  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment I  will  concede  that  it  was  not.  And  so  of  others;  they  spoke 
"as  friends."     May  God  make  me  sufficiently  grateful  to  my  "friends." 

I  observe,  gentlemen  of  the  legislature,  that  in  presenting  and 
adopting  these  joint  resolutions,  you  express  the  fear  that  my  "future 
usefulness  will  be  greatly  impaired  and  dishonor  cast  upon  the  escut- 
cheon of  Minnesota"  unless  I  shall  at  once  comply  with  the  demands 
you  make  upon  me.  That  seems  to  be  the  fear  that  oppresses  you;  the 
nightmare  which  disturbs  your  slumbers;  the  sense  of  danger  which 
haunts  your  waking  and  sleeping  hours,  and  plunges  your  virtuous 
souls  into  the  very  depths  of  despair.  Well,  gentlemen,  from  what  I 
know  of  your  politicial  lives  and  characters,  I  should  have  expected 
nothing  else.  Taking  your  "representative  men"  and  your  leaders  as 
fair  samples  of  the  present  virtuous  "legislature  of  Minnesota"  and  I 
can  readily  imagine  the  anguish  of  heart  which  would  pervade  your 
whole  body  upon  the  disclosures  of  my  assumed  wickedness.  There  is 
by  old-time  "friend"  Morton  S.  Wilkinson,  for  instance,  who  adorns 
by  his  life  and  virtues  one  branch  of  your  body.  What  a  teacher  and 
exemplar  of  official  honesty  and  purity  he  is.  How  he  weeps  and  wails 
over  the  danger  to  the  "escutcheon"  from  unworthy  representatives. 
And  how  carefully  he  guarded  the  "escutcheon"  when  a  senator  and 
representative  in  congress.  How  nobly  he  stood  for  public  virtue  and 
honesty  when  he  so  stoutly  insisted  on  a  "fair  divide"  in  those  Indian 
transactions,  so  well  known  and  understood  by  so  many  in  our  state. 
How  earnestly  he  insisted  that  "something  handsome  should  be  made'' 
out  of  the  confirmation  of  certain  treaties  with  foreign  powers  where  his 
vote  was  needed.  And  with  what  touching  devotion  did  he  champion 
the  cause  of  public  virtue  and  benevolence  by  so  strenuously  insisting 
upon  the  broad  and  generous  doctrine  of  "give  and  take,"  he  always 
playing  the  humble  and  virtuous  part  of  "take."  How  bravely  he  ad- 
vocated the  cause  of  "Cuban  independence"  in  the  house,  when  Cuban 
bonds  were  not  worth  one  per  cent  on  the  dollar,  and  with  what  inde- 


180  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

pendence  and  vigor  he  denounced  General  Grant's  first  administration 
for  not  adopting  his  suggestion  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  for- 
eign affairs,  and  going  in  for  a  policy  which  would  have  made  those  same 
bonds  worth  75  cents  on  the  dollar,  simply  by  our  going  to  the  trifling 
expense  of  a  war  with  Spain.  But,  gentlemen,  "Wilk"  did  not  care 
anything  about  the  ''bonds."  Bless  your  and  his  virtuous  souls,  no! 
What  did  the  insignificant  amount  of  $50,000  of  Cuban  gold  bonds  mat- 
ter to  such  a  high-toned  and  hawkeyed  sentinel  of  the  "escutcheon"  as 
"Wilk."  Gentlemen  legislators,  you  only  do  yourselves  and  your  own 
characters  simple  injustice  in  following  "Wilk"  as  a  proper  leader  in 
this  crusade  against  official  corruption. 

And  he — shall  I  name  "him?"  Need  I  name  "him?"  Doesn't  every 
legislative  eye  turn  instinctively  towards  that  proud  champion  of  poli- 
tical virtue  and  "reform"  before  whom  fifty-three  of  you  so  recently 
bowed  in  political  adoration,  without  any  resorting  to  the  vulgar 
necessity  of  uttering  the  name  of — Donnelly?  Donnelly  !  !  !  a  name 
familiarized  to  the  people  of  Minnesota  by  its  close  and  intimate 
association  with  all  that  is  pure  and  good  in  politics,  during  the  ten 
years'  service  he  rendered  in  guarding  the  "escutcheon;"  a  name 
synonymous  with  the  loftiest  integrity,  purity  of  character,  exalted 
patriotism,  and  unyielding  devotion  to  the  cause  of  public  virtue  and 
the  honor  of  the  "escutcheon."  And  when  I  recall  that  fifty-three  of  you 
gentlemen  of  the  legislature,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  Mr.  Donnelly 
and  his  public  record,  recognize  in  him  a  fit  and  proper  representative 
of  yours,  and  gave  him  your  votes  for  United  States  Senator,  I  am 
forced  to  admit  that  you  performed  one  of  the  most  proper  political 
acts  of  your  lives.  For  Donnelly  is  worthy  of  you  and  your  votes,  and 
you  are  worthy — ^but,  no,  I  cannot  say  that.  No,  Mr.  Donnelly  is 
worthy  of  more  reputable  followers  than  you,  so  far  as  I  have  the  honor 
of  your  personal  acquaintance.  For  I  here  assert  that  I  think  him 
just  as  honest  as  you  who  so  recently  kneeled  before  him  and  decorated 
him  with  your  votes  for  United  States  Senator,  while  the  most  com- 
mon-headed man  in  the  state,  outside  the  present  "Minnesota  Legis- 
lature" will  at  once  admit  that  he  has  more  brains  than  all  of  you.  So, 
extending  to  Donnelly  my  sympathy  that  he  could  not  have  been  favored 
with  a  more  reputable  class  of  supporters,  I  proceed  to  remark  that, 
after  all,  your  mutual  relations  are,  beyond  doubt,  the  most  fit  and 
proper  that  could  have  been  established.  For  Donnelly's  political  "kite" 
no  more  tasty  and  becoming  "tail,"  with  fifty-three  joints,  could  possibly 
have  been  constructed,  even  down  to  the  very  last  little  "Crook"  at 
the  end.  The  combination  of  materials  and  character  is  most  happily 
blended  from  extreme  to  extreme,  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  are 
sometimes  vain  and  even  pompous  in  view  of  the  very  satisfactory  and 
happy  relations  you  sustain  to  your  distinguished  head  and  leader. 
For  Donnelly's  kite  is,  fortunately  for  your  ambition,  different  from 
other  articles  of  that  kind,  inasmuch  as  he    can  always    furnish    wind 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  181 

enough  to  float  it  in  any  kind  of  political  weather.  This  close  political 
"attachment"  between  yourselves  and  Donnelly,  gentlemen,  is  also 
very  fortunate  for  you  in  another  respect:  that  it  enables  you  to  reach  a 
political  altitude,  which  you  could  otherwise  never  have  hoped  to 
attain. 

But,  gentlemen,  interesting  to  you,  as  I  know  this  somewhat  digres- 
sive branch  of  the  subject  must  be,  proud,  as  I  know  you  must  be,  at 
the  exalted  position  which  your  "attachment"  to  Donnelly  enables  you 
to  reach,  I  must  pass  on  to  the  more  important  points  of  this  subject. 
And  as  Mr.  Donnelly  is  a  member  of  your  "joint"  body,  and  as  he 
too,  doubtless,  considered  my  case  "in  no  partizan  spirit"  but  rather 
"as  a  friend"  I  feel  myself  bound  to  make  proper  recognition  of  the 
fact.  As  the  sturdy  foe  of  "political  corruption"  and  the  degrading 
influence  of  the  "lobbies,"  as  the  eloquent  champion,  both  by  pen  and 
voice,  of  "political  reform,"  to  say  nothing  of  his  having  enjoyed  the 
somewhat  questionable  honor  of  having  so  recently  been  voted  for  by 
you,  "a  man  after  your  own  hearts,"  I  come  to  pay  my  tribute  to  his 
public  worth. 

In  entering  upon  this  task,  you  will  not,  of  course,  expect  me  to 
do  it  anything  like  full  or  complete  justice.  Neither  time  nor  space  will 
admit  of  that,  and  so  I  must,  of  necessity,  omit  much  which  would,  if 
disclosed  to  you,  exalt  Mr,  Donnelly  still  more  in  your  estimation. 
But  I  pass  by  those  comparatively  trifling  matters  connected  with  his 
thrifty  transactions  at  the  "Leech  Lake"  and  "Bayfield"  Indian  agencies; 
the  "meat-y"  little  jobs  picked  up  from  the  Pacific  railroads  when  a 
member  of  the  railroad  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives; 
the  bold  and  dashing  "business"  propositions  made  by  him  during  the 
senatorial  contest  of  some  six  years  ago;  and  proceed  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  following  "high  testimonial"  as  to  Mr.  Donnelly's 
honesty  and  virtue,  those  two  prominent  traits  of  character  which  so 
strongly  commended  him  to  your  sympathies,  your  votes,  and  your 
"moral"  support.  This  testimonial  is  dated  at  the  rooms  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Memphis,  El  Paso  &  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany, April  10,  1869,  and  is  an  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  that 
committee,  as  follows: 

"The  committee  also  approve  of  a  transfer  of  $200,000  of  stock, 
made  by  W.  Schmoele  to  Ignatius  Donnelly,  and  authorize  W.  Schmoele 
to  pay  said  Donnelly  a  due  bill  of  $50,000  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
loan  in  Paris  as  fast  as  convenient,  said  due  bill  being  signed  by  J. 
C.  Fremont  and  B.  H.  Epperson,  and  dated  February,  1869,  and  to  be 
considered  as  a  retaining  fee  for  said  Donnelly  as  counsel  for  this 
company,  required  to  effect  a  connection  of  this  company  with  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  for  united  action  to  obtain  sub- 
sidies." 

It  will  be  observed,  gentlemen,  that  while  these  proceedings  bear 
date  of  April  10,  1869,  the  transaction  with  your  candidate  and  leader, 


182  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Mr.  Donnelly,  seems  to  have  been  completed  some  two  months  pre- 
vious, the  fifty  thousand  dollars  due  bill  being  dated  February,  1869, 
while  you  will  remember  Mr.  Donnelly  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  guarding  so  vigilantly  then,  as  he  is  now,  the 
"honor"  and  the  "escutcheon"  of  Minnesota. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  charging  that,  by  reason  of  the 
above  recited  transactions,  Mr.  Donnelly's  vigilance  in  guarding  the 
''escutcheon"  was  in  any  way  relaxed;  for  it  may  be — and  I  give  Mr. 
Donnelly  the  benefit  of  the  suggestion —  that  he  "pinned"  the  stock 
and  the  "due  bill"  fast  to  the  "escutcheon"  so  that  he  could  con- 
veniently keep  his  eye  upon  both  at  the  same  time. 

God  forbid,  gentlemen,  that  I  should  be  so  uncharitable  as  to 
insinuate  that  any  knowledge  that  you  may  have  possessed  of  the  facts 
upon  which  this  "high  testimonial"  is  based,  or  the  generous  figures 
it  contains,  had  anything  to  do  with  the  adoption  of  Mr,  Donnelly  as 
your  recognized  leader  and  senatorial  candidate.  No,  no.  I  know 
you  too  well  for  that.  Memphis  &  El  Paso  R.  R.  stock  is  not  the 
kind  of  assets  which  would  quicken  your  regard  for  or  commend  any 
candidate  to  your  favor.  No,  it  was  Donnelly's  principles  you  loved. 
It  was  "his  way"  of  guarding  the  "escutcheon."  It  was  his  style  of 
political  purity  and  virtue  which  excited  your  patriotic  pride,  and  made 
him  the  master  of  your  hearts  and  votes. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Minnesota  Legislature,  Mr.  Donnelly  is  with 
you  and  of  you  still.  He  "moves,  breathes  and  has  his  being"  within 
your  highly  virtuous  body.  He  is  subject  to  your  call  and  to  -your 
jurisdiction.  But  he  is,  also — I  do  not  say  this  to  flatter  him,  but 
simply  "as  a  friend" — the  principal  part,  the  "butt-end"  of  the  present 
very  pretentious  "Legislature  of  Minnesota."  He  rules  and  "runs" 
two  of  the  three  parties  who  make  up  your  distinguished  body,  and 
seems  to  inspire  the  fatal  and  destructive  policy  of  the  other.  There- 
fore, there  will  be  no  exhibition  of  your  superior  virtue  and  honesty 
in  the  case  of  either  "Wilk"  or  Donnelly.  There  will  be  no  investi- 
gations asked  by  you  into  Mr,  Donnelly's  transactions  with  the  Mem- 
phis, El  Paso  &  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  unless  it  be  to  "inquire" 
of  Mr.  Donnelly  why  in  the  name  of  all  the  Prophets  he  did  not 
compel  the  company  to  make  his  payments  "all  cash,"  instead  of  taking 
so  much  railroad  stock.  Ah,  gentlemen,  had  he  only  have  done  that, 
what  rich  "pickings"  you  would  have  had,  and  how  the  "fifty-three 
jointed  tail"  would  have  shaken  and  quivered  with  delight,  clear  down 
to  the  last  little  "Crooks"  at  the  end.  Yes,  gentlemen,  you  would  have 
had  Mr.  Donnelly  elected  senator  long  before  this,  and  would  doubtless 
have  added  still  another  to  your  series  of  "joint  resolutions"  upon 
the  importance  of  protecting  the  "honor"  and  the  "escutcheon"  of 
Minnesota.  But,  as  it  is,  you  have  fulfilled  your  mission.  You  have, 
peacock-like,  made  a  public  "spread"  and  exhibition  of  your  virtue  by 
placing   a   falsehood   against   me   upon   your  journals,    and   there   you 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  183 

will  "rest."  Now  you  will  go  on  with  your  corrupt  bargains  and  in- 
trigues in  senatorial  matters.  Your  buying  and  selling  of  each  other 
may  now  be  resumed  with  perfect  impunity.  Even  as  I  write  a  tele- 
graphic statement  from  St.  Paul,  which  I  found  in  the  public  journals, 
informs  me  that  "active  negotiations  are  now  in  progress"  upon  the 
senatorship,  of  which  I  have  no  doubt. 

I  might,  gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  pursue  this  branch  of  my 
subject  almost  indefinitely.  Your  pure  and  virtuous  tastes  do  not,  it  is 
true,  all  run  in  the  same  direction,  but  they  "run."  With  some  of  you 
they  travel  in  the  line  of  railroad  schemes.  With  some  they  lead  into 
the  rich  domain  of  swindling  government  and  Indian  contracts;  some 
into  the  delightful  pursuit  of  manufacturing  and  dealing  in  bogus  half- 
breed  scrip;  while  others  of  you  prefer  the  more  quiet  and  shady  path- 
ways of  "pine  land  rings."  But  all  of  you  are  equally  honest  and 
virtuous.  Your  characters  in  that  respect  you  have  founded  upon  your 
lying  joint  resolutions,  and  when  your  sixty  days  of  legislative  life 
have  expired,  you  can  all  go  home  and  put  your  biographers  at  work 
upon  the  rich  material  to  be  found  therein. 

One  more  point.  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  and  I  am  done — tor 
the  present.  Others  there  are  who,  though  not  members  of  your  illus- 
trious body,  are  equally  honest  and  virtuous  as  yourselves,  and  who, 
equally  solicitous  for  the  "escutcheon,"  may  lay  claim  to  consideration 
at  your  hands  as  your  outside  pillars  and  "moral"  supporters. 

They,  too,  have  suffered  by  reason  of  my  assumed  wickedness. 
Their  hearts  have  bled  as  freely  as  yours  at  the  fearful  picture  of  my 
wrong-doing.  There  is  the  late  chairman  of  the  Democratic  congres- 
sional committee,  who  mourned  so  deeply  and  roared  so  loudly  over 
his  own  lying  statements  of  the  expenditure  of  money  in  the  canvass 
last  fall,  but  who  was  finally  detected  in  fingering  and  disbursing  the 
thousand  dollar  checks  of  my  opponent.  And  there  was  "another  one," 
if  possible  a  still  more  virtuous  one,  who,  having  once  attempted  to 
bribe  me,  when  an  officer  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  betray 
the  community  in  which  I  live,  and  whose  bribes  having  been  spurned 
by  me,  was  very  loud  and  emphatic  in  his  expressions  of  my  unfitness 
for  representative  in  Congress — as  for  all  such  as  he  I  most  certainly 
am.  And  then,  gentlemen,  there  is  your  very  proper  "organ,"  the  St. 
Paul  Dispatch,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  which,  while  trying  to 
blackmail  me  out  of  a  large  sum  of  money  after  my  nomination  last 
fall  upon  the  promise  of  supporting  me,  was  not  only  willing  I  should 
be  elected  to  the  house,  but  strongly  insisted  that  I  should  be  a 
candidate  for  United  States  Senator;  but  who,  when  I  peremptorily 
refused  to  "come  down"  as  demanded  by  him,  suddenly  discovered,  to 
his  virtuous  horror,  that  he  had  been  vainly  trying  to  sell  himself  and 
his  paper  to  one  of  the  most  corrupt  and  dangerous  men  of  the  age. 
Gentlemen  of  the  Legislature,  I  beg  for  these,  your  virtuous  com- 
patriots in  the  sacred  cause  of  guarding  the  "honor"  and  "escutcheon" 


184  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

of  our  state,  the  privilege  of  consigning  themselves  to  immortal  honor 
by  joining  with  you  in  this  solemn  "joint  resolution"  ceremonial  as 
"subscribing  witnesses."  In  your  common  efforts  for  a  great  cause 
you  should  not  be  divided  by  the  mere  lines  of  position,  but  hand 
in  hand,  in  united  brotherhood  of  spirit,  you  should  walk  together  to 
the  end. 

Then,  upon  your  brave  and  manly  act  in  engraving  upon  the  legis- 
lative records  of  our  state  a  slander  and  a  falsehood  against  a  private 
citizen,  whose  life  for  seventeen  years  past  has  been  unselfishly  and 
honorably  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  and  the 
honor  of  our  young  commonwealth,  let  there  be  a  benediction  pro- 
nounced by  some  "fine  type  of  an  old  school  statesman,"  whose  official 
record,  truthfully  written,  would  be  the  fit  "companion-piece"  of  that 
of  Ignatius  Donnelly,  and  your  actions  in  this  matter  of  your  "joint 
resolutions"  will  be  complete  and  harmonious  in  all  their  parts. 

With  as  much  respect,  Gentlemen,  and  as  little  contempt  as  possible 
for  me  to  feel  towards  you  under  the  circumstances, 
I  remain,  unresigningly  yours, 

WILLIAM  S.  KING. 
February  nth,  1875. 

As  a  counter  irritant  and  diverting  attention  by  accusing 
others,  Mr.  King's  letter  was  quite  a  success  at  the  time,  and  after 
the  lapse  of  30  years  makes  interesting  reading.  Some  years 
later,  when  other  men  had  come  upon  the  scene  but  while  King 
was  still  living,  the  resolutions  were  formally  expunged  by 
another  legislature.  This  was,  of  course,  only  a  matter  of  form, 
as  the  offending  resolutions  still  stand  in  the  journals  and  will 
there  remain  while  the  archives  of  the  state  exist.  Both  the 
original  and  the  expunging  resolutions  are  so  buried  and  for- 
gotten that  they  would  never  be  known  but  for  this  history. 
Unfortunately,  King's  letter  never  got  into  the  journals,  so  that 
up  to  date  the  legislature  would  seem  to  be  several  laps  ahead. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-SEVEN. 


Senator  Davis*  Election  for  the  Second  Term  by  a  Scratch. 


When  the  eulogiums  on  the  late  Senator  C.  K.  Davis  are 
recalled,  which  were  pronounced  at  the  time  of  his  death,  it 
seems  almost  a  matter  of  surprise  that  a  few  years  before  he  nar- 
rowly escaped  being  defeated  for  a  re-election  to  the  senate.  It 
seems  as  if  a  statesman  with  his  record  would  have  been  the 
unanimous  choice  of  a  young  state  like  Minnesota,  as  he  reflected 
more  credit  on  the  state  than  the  state  did  upon  him. 

In  January,  1893,  Davis  was  elected  to  the  senate  for  the  sec- 
ond time,  but  it  was  by  a  scratch.  In  1899,  he  was  elected  for  the 
third  term  without  a  shadow  of  opposition.  He  had  been 
endorsed  in  the  campaign  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  legislature 
of  1893,  and  everybody  supposed  he  would  have  easy  sailing;  but 
there  was  a  cloud  upon  the  horizon.  The  caucus  was  called 
almost  as  soon  as  the  legislature  met,  and  it  was  held  on  the  4th 
of  January.  This  showed  nervousness  on  the  part  of  Davis  and 
his  friends,  or  they  would  not  have  been  so  anxious  to  get  the 
senatorial  nomination  out  of  the  way  before  the  members  of  the 
legislature  had  had  time  to  think  it  over  and  collect  their  wits.  In 
the  caucus  there  were  present  21  senators  out  of  25  Republicans, 
and  71  Republican  representatives,  with  eight  absentees,  making 
64  absolutely  present  from  the  house.  There  was  no  especial 
excitement  or  lack  of  harmony  in  the  caucus.  O.  B.  Turell  of 
Redwood  Falls  was  chosen  to  preside,  without  opposition,  and 
the  vote  was  not  by  secret  ballot  but  viva  voce  by  roll  call.  H.  F. 
Stevens,  then  senator  from  St.  Paul,  made  the  speech  nominating 
Davis.  As  the  result  of  the  roll  call,  Davis  received  the  votes  of 
22  senators  and  64  representatives,  a  total  of  86.     One  of  the  sen- 

(185) 


186  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

ators  was  a  member  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  not  a  Repub- 
lican, but  he  was  allowed  to  participate  in  the  caucus,  so  that 
Davis  really  had  85  Republican  votes  in  the  caucus.  Three  of 
the  absentees  sent  word  that  they  were  for  Davis,  and  his  strength 
was  counted  as  88  reliable. 

After  this  caucus  nomination  Senator  Davis  was  brought  in 
to  make  a  speech,  and  thanked  the  caucus  quite  briefly.  It  is 
notable  as  showing  the  mutations  of  politics  that  John  Lind  was 
a  member  of  that  caucus  as  a  Republican,  though  he  has  since 
served  a  term  as  Democratic  governor  of  the  state.  He  too  was 
called  upon  to  make  a  speech  after  Davis'  nomination,  and 
responded  as  follows : 

I  won't  make  any  speech,  but  no  act  of  yours  will  send  such  a 
greeting  to  every  Republican  heart  in  the  land  as  this  which  you  have 
just  done. 

In  view  of  this  declaration,  Lind  can  truthfully  say  that 
"things  are  not  as  they  used  to  be." 

This  was  the  4th  of  January,  and  the  mischief  afloat  was 
thus  exposed  in  an  editorial  in  the  Pioneer  Press  on  the  13th  of 
January : 

Sinister  rumors  have  been  afloat  for  some  days  that  a  persistent 
attempt  was  being  made  to  buy  off  enough  Republican  members  of  the 
legislature  to  defeat  the  election  of  the  Republican  caucus  nominee 
for  United  States  senator.  The  Pioneer  Press  is  informed  that  abun- 
dant proofs  are  at  hand  that  these  rumors  have  substantial  foundation. 
It  is  intimated  that  sums  as  high  as  $2,500  have  been  offered  to  Repub- 
lican members  if  they  would  absent  themselves  from  the  legislature 
during  next  Tuesday,  when  the  two  houses  will  vote  separately  for  a 
United  States  senator,  and  on  the  next  Wednesday,  or,  if  necessary, 
on  subsequent  days,  when  the  two  houses  will  meet  in  joint  convention 
to  consummate  the  election.  The  same  parties,  we  are  told,  have  been 
offered  much  larger  sums  if  they  would  stay  in  their  seats  on  the  sena- 
torial election  days  and  vote  against  Senator  Davis.  The  Democrats 
arid  their  clandestine  Republican  co-conspirators  would  not  seem  to 
have  an  easy  task  before  them  in  seeking  to  undermine  the-  solid  foun- 
dation on  which  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Davis  rests,  even  by  such 
potent  and  insidious  forces  as  the  resort  to  bribery  and  corruption. 

As  the  Republicans  had  26  majority  in  joint  convention  in 
the  legislature  it  really  did  seem  as  if  the  conspirators  had  under- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  187 

taken  a  large  contract.     Nevertheless,  it  came  very  nearly  win- 
ning.    The  Pioneer  Press,  being  a  partizan  newspaper,  of  course 
-charges  the  matter  up  to  the  Democrats,  but  "co-conspirators" 
is  a  good  word  to  use.     The  plan  was  not  to  elect  a  Democrat  to 
the  senate,  but  to  elect    another    Republican.     The  Democrats 
and  Populists  were  sufficiently  numerous  in  the  legislature  to 
-enable  this  to  be  done  if  they  could  unite  on  one  man  and  buy  14 
Republican  votes  for  him,  so  that  it  was  a  clear  and  plain  bushiess 
proposition.     The  money  was  to  be  furnished  by  Republicans, 
and  the  votes  were  to  be  purchased  by  Democratic  leaders ;  they, 
in  turn,  getting  their  own  party  in  Hne  without  purchase.     So 
that  if  there  is  any  question  of  which  was  the  more  reputable  of 
the  two  parties  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  absolutely  determine. 
The  whole  thing  was  a  piece  of  rascality,  conceived  in  corrup- 
tion,   and    endeavored    to  be  brought  to  success  by  the    basest 
means  know  in  poHtics.     The  vote  in  the  respective  houses  of  the 
legislature  took  place  on  January     17th.     In  the    house,  Davis 
received  67  out  of  114;  D.  W.  Lawler,  the  Democratic  nominee, 
31;   S.  M.  Owens,  the  Farmers'  Alliance  candidate,  12;   Moses 
E.  Clapp,  I ;  Albert  Scheflfer,  i ;   C.  M.  Start,  i.     In  the  senate 
Davis  received    20,  Lawler  17,  Owens  i,  Merriam  2,  Start    i, 
Schefifer  i,  Lind  i,  D.  A.  Dickinson  i. 

So  far  the  plot  was  working  all  right.  Davis  had  a  majority 
in  the  house,  and  if  he  had  had  a  majority  in  the  senate  it  would 
only  have  been  necessary  to  read  the  journals  of  the  respective 
bodies  in  the  joint  convention  the  next  day,  and  the  election 
would  be  over.  But  as  the  conspirators  planned  he  did  not  ha-'^e 
a  majority  in  the  senate,  and  consequently  it  was  necessary  to 
take  a  vote  in  joint  convention  the  next  day,  January  i8th. 

As  showing  that  the  scheme  for  purchasing  the  election  was 
a  hard  proposition,  I  quote  the  following  editorial  paragraph 
from  the  Pioneer  Press  of  June  i6th,  two  days  prior  to  the  vote 
in  the  legislature: 

The  boodlers  have  apparently  given  up  the  fight.  The  scheme 
they  undertook  to  work  under  Democratic  inspiration  was  not  lacking 
in  audacity  or  even  in  impudence,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  sagacity, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  honesty  of  those  who  inspired  it.  They  proposed 
to   select  as  against  Davis   some  other  Republican  if  they  could   find 


188  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

one  who  would  accept  the  doubtful  honor  by  a  combination  of  the 
Democratic  and  Populist  cohorts,  reinforced  by  the  purchased  individ- 
ual treachery  of  14  Republicans. 

The  Pioneer  was  still  harping  upon  the  Democratic  inspira- 
tion, but  the  real  inspiration  was  the  money  of  the  men  (Republi- 
cans) who  hoped  to  profit  by  the  defeat  of  Senator  Davis. 

Money  will  inspire  more  deviltry  than  all  the  politicians  and 
political  theories  in  the  world  combined ;  in  fact  the  deviltry  in 
politics  would  not  exist  if  it  was  not  backed  up  by  cash. 

The  joint  convention  met  on  January  i8th,  and  as  soon  as  it 
was  called  to  order  Speaker  Lee  announced  that,  as  the  vote  in 
the  houses  separately  the  day  previous  showed  that  no  one  per- 
son had  received  a  majority  in  each  house,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  call  the  roll  and  take  a  ballot  for  United  States  senator. 
There  were  168  members  of  the  legislature  present,  and  it  was 
pretty  well  known  how  167  of  them  would  vote.  Mr.  Holler, 
Republican  representative  from  Wright  county,  had  been  absent 
from  the  original  caucus  and  also  absent  from  the  house  the  pre- 
ceding day  when  the  first  official  vote  was  taken.  He  was  the 
pivotal  man.  Davis'  fate  rested  in  his  hands,  as  it  was  believed 
if  an  election  could  be  prevented  that  day  the  plot  to  defeat  him 
could  then  be  developed  and  carried  to  success.  All  of  the 
spectators  were  anxious  to  take  a  look  at  Holler,  and  he  was  the 
cynosure  of  all  eyes  while  the  roll  was  being  called.  When  his 
name  was  about  to  be  reached  the  Davis  men  held  their  breath ; 
in  fact  it  was  a  case  of  suspended  animation  for  a  moment ;  but 
when  in  response  to  his  name  he  voted  for  Davis,  Bob  Dunn, 
the  present  candidate  for  governor  on  the  Republican  ticket,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Mille  Lacs  county,  let  out 
a  yell  worthy  of  a  Sioux  Indian  on  the  war  path  and  led  the 
cheering  for  Davis,  which  was  loud,  long  and  vociferous. 

Winning  by  an  eye-lash  made  the  victory  all  the  more  sweet ; 
and  when  the  record  was  made  up  it  was  found  that  Davis  had 
85  votes,  the  exact  number  necessary  and  no  more ;  Lawler  49, 
Owen  23,  Merriam  2,  Lind  2,  SchefTer  2,  Clapp  3,  Start  i,  Dick- 
inson I.  Seven  Republican  senators  had  voted  against  Davis^ 
but  he  had  enough  without  them. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  189 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  talk  at  the  time  of  political  death 
awaiting  those  seven  senators,  and  still  it  can  be  said,  as  show- 
ing the  forgetfulness  and  forgiving  spirit  of  the  American  people, 
that  one  of  the  senators  was  re-elected,  and  one  has  since  been 
sent  to  Congress.  The  whirligig  of  politics  brings  strange 
results.  At  this  time  there  probably  is  not  a  man  living  who  is 
proud  of  having  voted  against  Davis  if  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Republican  party  at  that  time.  But  Davis  and  his  friends  suf- 
fered the  scare  of  their  lives,  and  it  took  them  a  long  time  to 
recover  from  the  effects  of  the  terror  they  experienced.  It  was 
like  a  person  having  his  hair  turn  white  in  a  night  by  excessive 
fright.  At  that  time  those  who  were  bald-headed  were  con- 
gratulating themselves. 


OBSERVATION    TWENTY-EIGHT. 


McGiirs  Nomination  for  Governor. 


There  have  been  a  great  many  notable  contests  in  Minnesota^ 
but  they  have  largely  been  confined  to  congressional  and  sena- 
torial matters.  Perhaps  the  gubernatorial  contest  of  1886  was 
the  one,  involving  the  whole  state,  which  attracted  the  most 
interest  up  to  the  one  in  this  current  year,  which  is  considered  in 
a  later  chapter. 

In  the  campaign  of  1886  there  was  a  quadrangular  contest 
for  the  Republican  nomination  for  governor.  The  candidates- 
were  A.  R.  McGill,  who  was  credited  to  Nicollet  county,  C.  A. 
Gilman  of  Stearns,  J.  L.  Gibbs  of  Freeborn,  and  Albert  Schefifer 
of  St.  Paul.  Mr.  SchefYer  did  not  remain  in  the  field  as  a  formal 
candidate  though  he  was  voted  for  in  the  convention,  and  the 
leading  competitors  were  McGill  and  Gilman,  with  Gibbs  nearly 
up  to  Gilman's  figures. 

McGill  had  been  private  secretary  to  Governor  Austin  for 
two  terms,  and  also  state  insurance  commissioner,  which  involved 
his  residing  in  St.  Paul,  and  •  consequently  his  political  oppo- 
nents tried  the  usually  fatal  claim  that  he  lived  in  the  city,  though 
it  did  not  prove  successful  at  this  time.  At  first  the  St.  Paul  Dis- 
patch supported  Schefifer,  but  after  he  withdrew  it  advocated  Gil- 
man, while  the  Pioneer  Press  championed  McGill.  The  Dis- 
patch endeavored  to  show  that  St.  Paul  was  more  likely  to 
secure  the  United  States  senator  with  Gilman  in  the  chair  of  state 
than  McGill.  Five  or  six  weeks  before  the  state  convention  the 
Dispatch  said: 

In  our  opinion  the  candidacy  of  Mr.  Davis  for  United  States^ 
senator   should  be   made  paramount  to   every  other  consideration.     If 

(190) 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  191 

anybody's  candidacy  for  any  other  office  stands  in  Mr.  Davis'  way  he 
should  be  promptly  dropped  by  Ramsey  County  Republicans.  We 
should  fix  our  eyes  on  a  senatorial  seat  for  C.  K.  Davis  and  subordi- 
nate every  other  minor  consideration  to  that  end. 

To  offset  this,  McGilPs  friends  insisted  that  he  really  belonged 
in  St.  Peter,  which  was  his  home,  and  where  he  owned  a  news- 
paper ^  that  he  had  only  been  brought  to  St.  Paul  temporarily 
for  political  purposes,  and  it  should  not  be  counted  as  an  unpar- 
donable political  sin  that  he  lived  in  the  city  for  a  few  years,  as 
a  necessary  adjunct  to  drawing  his  salary. 

The  Republican  state  convention  having  the  matter  in  charge 
met  in  St.  Paul,  September  23rd,  with  361  delegates.  Capt.  H. 
A.  Castle  was  then  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee,  and 
called  the  convention  to  order.  M.  J.  Daniels  of  Rochester 
promptly  nominated  A.  C.  Wedge  of  Albert  Lea  for  chairman. 
This  produced  a  storm.  Knute  Nelson  (now  Senator  Nelson) 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  made  a  fiery  protest.  Nelson  was  sup- 
porting Gilman,  and  he  claimed  that  this  chairmanship  selection 
was  a  Gibbs  move,  aided  by  McGill,  and  warned  the  Republicans 
that  the  Fifth  Congressional  District,  where  Gilman  lived,  was 
where  they  would  have  to  look  for  their  votes  if  they  carried  the 
state.  Loren  Fletcher  of  Minneapolis  and  John  A.  Lovely  of 
Albert  Lea  made  speeches  in  reply  to  Nelson,  disclaiming  any 
effort  to  take  advantage,  even  going  so  far  as  to  offer  to  with- 
draw Wedge,  but  he  was  evidently  an  entering  "wedge,"  for  this, 
which  was  only  a  bluff,  was  not  done,  and  in  spite  of  Nelson's 
fusillade  Wedge  was  elected  chairman  with  only  three  opposing 
votes. 

It  was  nearly  4  o'clock  when  the  afternoon  session  of  the  con- 
vention began,  and  Knute  Nelson  was  again  on  deck.  He  moved 
to  have  the  platform  reported  before  the  nominations.  H.  G. 
Hicks  of  Minneapolis  and  Fletcher  then  united  in  a  little  parlia- 
mentary by-play  which  rather  got  the  better  of  Nelson.  Hicks 
moved  to  table  Nelson's  resolution,  and  just  then  Fletcher 
claimed  attention  from  the  chair.  Nelson  sought  to  interrupt, 
when  Fletcher  said :  "I  have  the  floor,  Mr.  Nelson.  We  are  not 
here  to  be  defeated  by  any  chicanery,  sharp  practice,  or  trickery." 
Nelson  then  raised  the  point  that  a  motion  to  lay  on  the  table 


192  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  not  debatable,  but  Hicks  came  to  Fletcher's  rescue  by 
withdrawing  the  motion  while  Fletcher  was  still  on  his  feet. 
Fletcher  then  added,  ''I  know  my  rights,  Mr.  Nelson.  I  have 
the  floor.  The  opposition  want  delay.  Their  purposes  are 
neither  manly  nor  creditable  to  a  convention  like  this."  Hav- 
ing thus  relieved  himself,  Fletcher  sat  down,  while  Hicks  im- 
mediately renewed  his  motion  to  lay  Nelson's  motion  on  the 
table,  and  as  such  a  motion  was  not  debatable  Nelson's  wind 
was  shut  off,  though  he  attempted  to  reply. 

Fletcher^s  rebuke  of  "sharp  practices"  under  these  circum- 
stances was  pretty  good,  and  almost  suggestive  of  Satan  in  the 
pulpit.  The  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  prevailed  and  balloting 
for  governor  was  then  in  order.  The  chair  called  for  nomina- 
tions, but  there  was  no  response.  He  then  asked  directly  if  any 
one  wanted  to  name  McGill;  but  even  this  broad  hint  did  not 
bring  a  nominating  speech,  and  the  convention  went  into  informal 
ballot  without  a  candidate  being  named.  The  whole  number  of 
votes  cast  were  361,  necessary  to  a  choice  181.  An  informal 
and  two  formal  ballots  were  taken,  with  the  following  results : 

Informal,  ist  Formal.  2nd  Formal. 

McGill   156  163  168 

Oilman    103  100  102 

Gibbs    98  96  88 

Scheffer i  i  2 

Scattering    3  ...  2 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  the  excitement  was  intense, 
and  the  opponents  of  McGill  wanted  time  to  think  about  it  and 
see  what  combinations  could  be  made.  A  recess  was  accord- 
ingly taken  with  a  view  of  having  an  evening  session.  At  the 
adjourned  evening  session  balloting  was  immediately  resumed, 
but  it  only  took  two  ballots  to  settle  the  contest.  They  were  as 
follows : 

Third  Ballot.  Fourth  Ballot. 

McGill   175  190 

Gilman    95  60 

Gibbs  75  42 

Scheffer    16  66 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  193 

The  Gilman  and  Gibbs  men  had  undertaken  to  make  a  dark- 
horse  candidate  of  Scheffer,  and  while  they  ran  his  vote  up  they 
could  not  control  their  own  forces,  and  in  the  break  enough 
went  to  McGill  to  nominate  him.  Possibly  if  the  combination 
had  been  attempted  earlier  it  would  have  won,  but  Gilman  and 
Gibbs  each  lived  in  hopes  a  little  too  long.  The  Dispatch  had 
been  supporting  H.  A.  Castle  for  lieutenant  governor,  but  when 
it  came  to  ballot  A.  E.  Rice  of  Kandiyohi  county  had  237  to  103 
for  Castle. 

About  the  only  other  notable  thing  about  the  ticket  was  the 
defeat  of  Sam  Nichols  for  clerk  of  the  supreme  court.  He  had 
held  the  office  continually  from  1876,  and  began  to  feel  that  there 
was  a  sort  of  Hfe  tenure  in  the  position.  His  chief  competitor 
was  J.  D.  Jones  of  Long  Prairie,  though  there  were  three  other 
candidates.  It  required  three  ballots  to  determine  the  result. 
But  after  the  second  ballot  two  of  the  candidates  withdrew  in 
favor  of  Jones,  which  gave  him  the  victory.  Nichols  received 
III,  124,  and  107  votes,  while  Jones  had  70,  102,  and  234  votes  on 
the  respective  ballots.  It  was  at  this  convention  that  Hon. 
Moses  E.  Clapp,  now  U.  S.  senator,  first  came  into  prominence 
by  securing  the  position  of  attorney  general.  There  were  four 
candidates  in  the  field,  with  Dean  Pattee,  now  of  the  state  uni- 
versity, Clapp's  chief  competitor.  There  were  two  ballots, 
Clapp  receiving  142  and  182  votes,  while  Pattee  had  98  and  69. 
While  Clapp  won  he  had  only  one  vote  to  spare,  as  181  were 
necessary  for  a  choice,  the  other  votes  being  cast  for  Kellogg  and 
Burlingame.  As  evidence  that  newspaper  predictions  are  not 
always  reliable,  I  quote  the  following  which  appeared  at  the 
head  of  the  editorial  columns  of  Captain  Castle's  Dispatch  August 
nth,  the  day  preceding  the  convention: 

From  a  careful  perusal  of  the  state  press  the  following  seems  to  be 
the  complexion  of  the  state  ticket: 
Governor— C.  A.  Gilman. 
Lieutenant  Governor — H.  A.  Castle. 
Secretary  of  State— H.  G.  Stordock. 
Treasurer — Joseph  Bobleter. 
Auditor— W.  W.  Braden. 
Attorney  General — In  doubt. 

13 


194  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

As  the  first  three  officers  really  selected  were  McGill,  Rice  and 
Hans  Mattson,  and  the  last  was  not  named  in  the  prophesy,  it 
left  the  Dispatch  right  in  two  instances  out  of  six,  which  might 
be  termed  close  prognostication  if  a  person  was  reckless  as  to 
facts. 

The  Dispatch  was  very  sore  over  the  result,  and  especially 
berated  R.  B.  Langdon  and  Loren  Fletcher  of  MinneapoHs  for 
McGilPs  nomination.  Just  a  week  after  the  nomination,  in 
reply  to  tantalization  by  the  Pioneer  Press,  the  Dispatch  said: 

When  it  comes  to  a  choice  of  two  evils,  choose  the  least.  The 
editor  of  the  Dispatch  expects  to  vote  the  Republican  ticket,  McGill 
and  all,  but  that  is  only  because  that,  bad  as  are  the  influences  that 
nominated  and  will  control  McGill,  they  are  preferable  to  the  influences 
that  will  control  Ames." 

Per  contra,  the  Pioneer  Press,  the  morning  after  the  nomina- 
tion, said  this : 

There  is  no  member  of  the  party  who  can  find  cause  for  dissatisfac- 
tion in  the  ticket  presented  for  his  support.  McGill  is  a  strong  man, 
a  clean  man,  an  honest  man.  He  is  a  man  about  whom  there  lingers 
no  odor  of  jobbery,  no  smells  from  the  fumes  of  a  political  pit.  Against 
him  neither  public  nor  private  scandal  has  ever  raised  a  whistper. 

The  canvass  before  the  people  was  vigorous  and  exciting. 
Dr.  A.  A.  Ames  of  Minneapolis  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  governor,  and  struck  a  popular  chord  with  the  laboring 
classes,  the  result  being  that  he  gave  Governor  McGill  a  close 
run.    The  vote  at  the  election  stood : 

McGill 106,966 

Ames    104,483 

James    E.    Child    (Prohibition) 9,030 

Child's  vote  came  very  largely  from  the  Republican  ranks, 
but  so  far  as  practical  results  were  concerned  McGill  only  had 
2,483  plurality  over  Ames. 

An  exciting  county-seat  contest  had  quite  a  bearing  on  the 
result.  In  fact  Ames  claimed  that  he  would  have  been  elected 
but  for  the  county-seat  contest  in  Becker  county,  and  went  so 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  195 

far  as  to  come  down  to  St.  Paul  and  take  the  oath  of  office  as 
governor  before  a  magistrate. 

It  was  Ames'  intention  to  make  a  formal  contest  with  McGill, 
but  he  never  pressed  the  matter,  and  consequently  McGill  took 
his  seat  in  due  time.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  result  might 
have  been  dififerent  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  riot  in  Minneapolis 
the  night  preceding  the  election.  The  Republicans  had  a  torch- 
light street  parade,  and  as  excitement  ran  high  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  the  city — men  like  Chas.  A.  Pillsbury,  ex-Gov.  John  S. 
Pillsbury,  Thomas  Lowry  and  others — marched  in  the  proces- 
sion. The  Democrats  lost  their  heads  and  assaulted  them,  some 
of  the  conspicuous  Republican  leaders  being  considerably 
bruised.  The  result  was  that  a  storm  of  local  indignation  was 
aroused  at  this  ruffianism,  which  unquestionably  cost  Ames 
many  votes.  In  view  of  subsequent  developments  just  what 
might  have  happened  if  A.  A.  Ames  had  been  elected  governor 
of  Minnesota  is  a  chapter  of  history  which  it  is  now  entirely 
unnecessary  to  write. 


OBSERVATION  TWENTY-NINE. 


W.  R.  Merriam's  Election  as  Governor. 


After  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  people  forget  political  contests. 
The  great  majority  of  the  delegates  to  the  Republican  state  con- 
vention in  1904  which  nominated  a  state  ticket,  were  in  the  habit 
of  saying  to  themselves  and  each  other :  "There  never  has  been 
any  such  contest  as  this  before  in  the  state."  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  with  the  exception  that  the  convention  was  much  smaller, 
there  was  a  contest  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  between  A. 
R.  McGill,  Albert  Schefifer  and  W.  R.  Merriam,  with  Charles  A. 
Gilman  of  St.  Cloud  on  the  side  as  a  sort  of  "Barkis  is  willin'," 
which  was  as  bitter  and  exciting  as  the  convention  of  1904. 

This  was  September  5  and  6,  1888.  Scheffer  and  Merriam 
were  residents  of  St.  Paul,  while  McGill  was  credited  to  Nicollet 
county,  though  he  almost  ranked  as  a  St.  Paulite,  as  his  duties 
as  private  secretary  to  Governor  Austin  and  insurance  commis- 
sioner had  made  him  reside  in  St.  Paul  since  1870. 

Governor  McGill  was  serving  his  first  term,  and  by  the 
unwritten  political  law  of  the  party  was  entitled  to  the  endorse- 
ment of  a  second  term.  He  had  made  an  acceptable  official  and, 
furthermore,  had  gone  through  his  first  campaign  as  the  cham- 
pion of  high  license,  which  his  party  had  made  an  issue.  Upon 
this  issue  he  narrowly  escaped  defeat.  He  was  as  conspicuous  in 
the  state  as  the  party  representative  of  that  issue  as  McKinley 
became  later  the  party  representative  of  the  tariflf. 

After  McGill  was  elected  he  urged  high  license  in  his  mes- 
sage, presided  and  spoke  at  public  meetings  held  to  advocate  the 
measure  while  the  legislature  was  considering  the  bill,  and  in 
every  way  stood  as  its  champion.     Everyone  is  now  in  favor  of 

(196) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  197 

high  Hcense,  the  saloon  men  as  well  as  the  temperance  advocates, 
outside  of  absolute  prohibitionists.  But  it  was  a  different  matter 
then.  The  proposed  measure  Hfted  $25  licenses  to  $500,  and 
$50  and  $100  licenses  to  $1,000,  according  to  the  population  of 
the  town.  St.  Paul  had  over  800  saloons,  with  a  license  revenue 
of  only  $80,000,  while  now  with  about  300  saloons  the  revenue  is 
$300,000.  The  high  license  law  was  really  a  peaceable  revolution, 
and  Governor  McGill,  owing  to  his  official  position,  stood  as  the 
party  leader  for  the  measure. 

W.  R.  Merriam  had  been  speaker  of  the  house  in  1887,  and 
evidently  regarded  that  as  a  stepping  stone  to  the  governorship, 
just  as  speakers  of  the  national  house  aim  to  go  from  that  posi- 
tion to  the  presidency.  Waiting  two  years  to  give  Governor 
McGill  his  second  term  seemed  too  long  a  period  for  Merriam, 
and  he  accordingly  decided  to  enter  the  race  in  1888. 

Seeing  that  Governor  McGill  was  to  have  competition,  Albert 
Scheffer  concluded  to  join  in  the  exercises,  and  thus  a  contest 
was  engendered  which  proved  to  be  very  bitter  before  it  was 
concluded. 

Scheffer  was  first  launched  by  a  Farmers'  Alliance  meeting. 
This  was  done  to  beat  Merriam  on  his  own  ground,  as  he  had 
been  especially  coquetting  with  that  element  of  the  people.  After 
the  Farmers'  Alliance  movement  Mr.  Scheffer  opened  formal 
headquarters  at  the  Merchants  hotel  in  St.  Paul,  in  charge  of  C. 
D.  Baker  of  Fergus  Falls,  who  with  a  corps  of  assistants  worked 
several  months  in  the  Scheffer  cause  prior  to  the  convention. 
The  state  was  deluged  with  literature  in  all  'languages,  and  up  to 
that  date  the  most  active  preliminary  campaign  ever  seen  in  the 
state  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Scheffer  and  his  friends. 

Mr.  Merriam  conducted  his  campaign  from  his  banking 
house,  Hterally  and  emphatically,  and  relied  very  largely  upon 
personal  agents  who  visited  nearly  and  perhaps  every  county  in 
the  state.  His  campaign  was  not  so  much  on  the  town-meeting 
order  as  Scheffer's,  but  of  a  character  to  reach  the  right  spot  and 
put  the  investment  where  it  would  do  the  most  good,  which  was 
more  effective  in  the  end. 

Governor  McGill  had  his  headquarters  in  the  saddle,  or,  to  be 
more  exact,  in  the  executive  offices  at  the  capitol. 


198  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  fact  that  Governor  McGill  was  in  office  really  handi- 
capped the  activity  of  his  campaign,  as  it  was  beneath  the  dignity 
of  his  position  to  make  efforts  for  himself  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  entirely  becoming  and  permissible. 

C.  A.  Oilman  of  St.  Cloud,  thinking  that  the  trio  might 
need  a  compromise  candidate,  let  it  be  known  that  he  could  be 
made  a  sacrifice,  although  he  did  not  go  to  any  excessive  labor 
or  expenditure  in  his  preliminary  work. 

And  so  the  merry  war  went  on  until  the  convention  assembled 
in  St.  Paul  on  September  5th. 

Hennepin  county,  with  Loren  Fletcher  in  the  lead,  was  the 
especial  champion  of  McGill,  while  the  20  votes  of  Ramsey 
county  stood  16  for  Schefifer  and  4  for  McGill.  Merriam  was 
without  any  home  support,  which  to  a  man  without  finan- 
cial resources  would  have  presaged  defeat.  ScheflPer  had 
only  a  broken  delegation.  John  S.  Pillsbury,  as  chairman 
of  the  state  central  committee,  called  the  convention  to  order, 
and  William  Hodgson  of  Dakota  county,  a  Schefifer  man,  nomi- 
nated J.  L.  Gibbs  for  temporary  chairman.  Fred  Hooker  of 
Minneapolis,  a  McGill  man,  seconded  the  nomination,  and  Gibbs 
was  chosen  unanimously. 

Gibbs  was  seated  in  the  rear  of  the  hall,  wearing  his  usual 
rural  and  unsophisticated  look,  so  that  perhaps  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  when  he  started  to  go  to  the  platform  a  policeman,  who 
had  been  employed  to  preserve  order,  grabbed  him  by  the  arm 
and  told  him  to  keep  away  and  not  to  disturb  the  convention. 
He  was  finally  introduced  to  the  policeman,  after  which  he  was 
permitted  to  take  his  seat  as  temporary  chairman,  and  subse- 
quently was  chosen  as  permanent  chairman  without  being 
arrested  a  second  time. 

One  of  the  first  episodes  was  a  resolution  excluding  proxies 
unless  the  party  resided  in  the  county  which  was  represented. 
This  resolution  passed,  but  it  cut  both  ways.  C.  B.  Buckman  of 
Little  Falls,  who  was  supporting  Merriam,  had  a  proxy  from 
Wadena  county,  while  Frank  Davis  of  Minneapolis  was  due  to 
represent  Olmstead  county,  and  Freeman  P.  Lane,  also  of  Minne- 
apolis, was  due  to  come  from  Wright  county.  But  all  were 
excluded.     It  took  but  a  few  minutes  to  appoint  the  usual  com- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  199 

mittees,  after  which  oratory  from  Frank  Davis  and  Ignatius  Don- 
nelly was  in  order.  Donnelly  did  not  assume  to  be  a  full-fledged 
Republican  at  that  time,  but  advised  the  convention  to  stand  in 
with  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 

A  recess  until  3  o'clock  p.  m.  then  followed. 

When  the  convention  assembled  in  the  afternoon  the  commit- 
tee on  credentials  was  unable  to  report  owing  to  the  large  num- 
ber of  contests,  which  among  the  multitude  of  candidates  required 
great  care  in  settling.  Chairman  Gibbs,  with  commendable 
impartiality,  had  given  McGill,  Scheffer  and  Merriam  each  five 
men  on  the  credentials  committee,  which  rendered  it  still  more 
difficult  to  come  to  a  determination.  A  recess  was  accordingly 
taken  till  evening,  at  which  time  the  committee  reported  the 
names  of  450  delegates,  and  for  a  wonder  the  report  was  adopted 
without  a  fight  on  the  floor  of  the  convention. 

Then  the  platform  committee  was  not  ready.  The  late  Gor- 
don E.  Cole  was  the  head  of  that  committee,  and  he  was  in  favor 
of  a  tarifif  for  revenue  only,  which,  while  it  might  be  heresy  in 
the  Republican  party  at  this  time,  was  at  that  time  accepted  by 
a  great  many  as  the  proper  thing. 

Ex-Governor  Pillsbury  wanted  to  proceed  and  nominte  the 
ticket  without  the  platform,  but  this  produced  strenuous  oppo- 
sition, and  the  motion  was  voted  down  by  268  to  160.  Evidently 
with  a  view  of  having  time  enough  the  next  day,  the  convention 
then  adjourned  its  evening  session  until  9  a.  m.  The  first  busi- 
ness of  the  second  day  was  the  report  of  the  platform,  which  was 
very  weak  on  the  tariff  question.  The  unique  feature  of  the  plat- 
form was  couched  in  these  words : 

It  points  with  pride  to  the  pure  and  clean  administration  of  Gov. 
A.  R.  McGill. 

Notwithstanding  this  declaration  in  the  platform  the  conven- 
tion turned  about  and  cut  McGill's  throat  from  ear  to  ear. 

Balloting  for  governor  was  then  in  order,  and  the  first  ballot 
was  voted  to  be  informal.  There  were  448  votes  cast,  225  being 
necessary  for  a  choice,  the  ballot  standing : 


200  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Merriam    158 

McGill    149 

Scheffer    116 

Gilman    17 

T.  B.  Clement 8 

The  second  ballot  was  designed  to  be  formal,  but  there  was 
so  much  confusion  that  General  Jennison  declared  it  should  be 
made  informal  and  carried  his  point.  The  only  change  it  showed 
was  4  of  McGilPs  vote  going  to  Merriam. 

There  then  followed  four  formal  ballots,  which  tell  the  story 
of  the  convention  and  can  better  be  described  in  the  condensed 
form  of  the  following  table. 

First  Second.  Third.  Fourth. 

Merriam  169  178  212  270 

McGill    138  114  24 

Scheffer  106  78  96  72 

Gilman    28  53  no  loi 

On  the  first  ballot  Clement  received  8  and  on  the  third  i.  W. 
W.  Braden  received  4  votes  on  the  second  and  third  formal  bal- 
lots ;  with  these  exceptions  all  the  votes  are  recorded  in  the  table 
above.  After  the  second  ballot  the  Hennepin  county  delegation 
tried  the  dangerous  experiment  of  swapping  horses  while  cross- 
ing the  stream.  Fletcher  gave  the  signal  to  change  from  McGill 
to  Gilman,  which  accounted  for  Gilman's  vote  springing  up  so 
rapidly  and  McGilPs  disappearing.  The  only  result  of  this  was 
to  hasten  Merriam's  nomination.  His  success  was  inevitable  from 
the  start  unless  McGill  and  Scheffer  could  combine  their  forces, 
and  when  the  McGill  men  broke  to  Gilman  instead  of  to  Scheffer 
it  was  equivalent  to  saying  to  Merriam,  "Come  and  take  it,"  and 
he  did. 

When  the  third  ballot  showed  Merriam  only  needed  12  more 
votes  to  secure  the  nomination  his  adherents  went  wild  with  joy, 
and  wilder  still  when  the  fourth  and  last  formal  ballot  did  the 
business. 

As  the  methods  resorted  to  to  secure  that  nomination  were  a 
matter  of  such  common  notoriety  at  the  time,  and  not  only  pub- 
licly talked  of  but  publicly  criticised  in  the  newspapers,  it  does 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  201 

not  seem  improper  to  any  of  the  parties  in  interest  to  allude  to 
them  here. 

While  at  this  late  day  it  might  be  difficult  to  prove  a  great 
many  things,  at  the  time  when  that  convention  was  held  proof 
was  abundant  and  most  publicly  stated  that  delegates  directly  sold 
their  votes  by  counties.  Some  of  the  developments  were  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  chairman  of  a  county  delegation  would  repre- 
sent the  bunch  and  make  the  trade  and  then  fail  to  tote  fair  in  the 
dividend,  which  caused  almost  endless  quarrels  in  the  delegations 
when  the  dividends  came  to  be  declared. 

This  was  a  lesson  in  Minnesota  politics  which  certainly  ought 
to  be  a  warning.  If  Governor  Merriam  could  have  quietly 
waited  two  years  longer  until  McGill  had  had  his  second  term,  he 
could  have  become  governor  almost  without  opposition.  There 
is  probably  no  character  who  has  ever  been  prominent  in  Min- 
nesota politics  who  better  illustrates  the  maxim  that  "haste  makes 
waste"  than  that  of  ex-Gov.  William  R.  Merriam. 

I  have  only  very  briefly  and  incidentally  touched  upon  this 
matter  because  I  do  not  wish  to  revive  so  disgracefully  an  un- 
pleasant affair,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  write  anything  approxi- 
mating a  truthful  history  of  Minnesota  politics  without  allusion 
to  the  newspaper  comments  and  the  developments  of  that  cam- 
paign, and  I  make  the  allusion  absolutely  as  a  matter  of  duty 
and  without  the  elaboration  which  the  reports  elicited  at  the  time. 

The  vote  at  the  fall  election  stood: 

Merriam   (Republican) 134355 

E.  M.  Wilson  (Democrat) 110,251 

Harrison  (Prohibitionist) 17,026 

Mr.  Merriam's  majority  over  both 7,078 

Up  to  that  date  this  was  the  most  interesting  convention  ever 
held  in  the  state,  and  especially  startling  owing  to  the  methods 
resorted  to  for  success.. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY. 


C.  K.  Davis'  First  Election  to  the  Senate. 


After  Senator  McMillan's  election  to  the  United  States 
senate,  in  1875,  Gov.  C.  K.  Davis,  who  was  one  of  the  defeated 
candidates,  quietly  served  out  his  gubernatorial  term  and  retired 
from  office  Jan.  7,  1876.  He  could  have  had  a  renomination 
and  re-election  for  governor,  but  he  positively  declined,  and  at 
the  end  of  his  single  term  resumed  his  lucrative  law  practice,  and 
apparently  laid  aside  political  ambition.  He  was  prominent  in 
political  campaigns,  in  speaking  for  his  party,  but  aside  from  that 
gave  no  sign  that  he  was  in  politics.  With  a  patience  which  few 
men  have  who  possess  political  ambition,  he  bided  his  time,  and 
knowing  that  St.  Paul  could  not  have  two  senators  made  no 
effort  to  secure  the  place  which  became  vacant  by  Windom's 
resignation  to  enter  Garfield's  cabinet.  McMillan  was  granted 
a  re-election  without  serious  opposition,  albeit  there  was  oppo- 
sition as  will  appear  elsewhere,  though  it  did  not  prove  to  be 
very  serious. . 

When  McMillan's  twelve  years  in  the  senate  was  approach- 
ing its  completion,  Ex-Governor  Davis  again  appeared  in  the 
political  arena.  In  the  state  campaign  of  1886  it  was  well 
understood  that  the  senatorial  question  was  one  of  the  issues, 
and  the  unanimity  in  behalf  of  Davis  was  remarkable.  Almost 
every  Republican  paper  in  the  state  was  in  his  favor,  and  while 
United  States  senators  cannot  be  elected  by  the  people,  as  they 
ought  to  be,  Mr.  Davis'  selection  came  about  as  near  an  expres- 
sion of  the  popular  choice  at  that  time  as  can  be  expected  under 
the  present  system  of  choosing  senators. 

(202) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  203 

The  legislature  met  on  the  4th  of  January,  1887,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  6th  the  Republican  caucus  was  held  to  nominate  a 
candidate  for  senator.  The  caucus  was  called  to  order  by  M. 
D.  Daniels  of  Olmstead,  and  S.  G.  Comstock  of  Moorhead  was 
selected  chairman.  Senator  McMillan  had  come  out  from 
Washington  and  was  in  the  city,  probably  with  a  lingering  hope 
that  there  might  be  an  opportunity  for  a  third  term,  but  he  had 
the  sagacity  to  discover  that  it  was  useless  to  make  the  contest. 
Consequently,  as  soon  as  the  caucus  was  organized  the  following 
letter  was  read : 

St.  Paul,  January  6. 
A.  K.  Finseth: 

My  dear  Senator:  My  name  having  been  mentioned  as  a  candidate 
for  re-election  to  the  United  States  senate,  I  desire  to  thank  you  for 
your  earnest  support,  and  beg  to  request  you  at  the  caucus  of  Repub- 
lican senators  and  representatives  to  be  held  to-night  to  withdraw  my 
name  from  the  consideration  of  that  body. 

Yours  truly, 

s.  J.  R.  McMillan. 

There  was  really  no  doubt  of  the  result  before,  but  this  made 
the  success  of  Davis  very  easy.  There  were  94  Republicans  pres- 
ent in  the  caucus  and  9  absent.  M.  J.  Daniels  nominated 
Davis,  and  he  received  93  votes  to  one  for  Gordon  E.  Cole,  cast 
by  C.  S.  Crandall  of  Owatonna. 

The  event  of  the  evening  was  the  speech  of  Ignatius  Don- 
nelly, which  followed  the  nomination.  Donnelly  had  been  wan- 
dering after  strange  gods  since  his  defeat  for  Congress  in  1868, 
had  run  for  Congress  on  the  Democratic  and  People's  tickets  in 
1878,  had  affiliated  with  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  there  was 
great  rejoicing  in  the  Republican  camp  over  his  supposed  return 
to  the  fold.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  there  were  loud 
calls  for  Donnelly,  partly  from  a  desire  to  hear  him,  as  he  was 
always  an  entertaining  speaker,  but  perhaps  still  more  largely 
from  a  desire  to  publicly  commit  him  to  the  party.  Mr.  Don- 
nelly responded  with  a  very  entertaining  speech,  in  which  he 
endorsed  Davis  cordially,  and  there  the  caucus  ended.  Twelve 
days  intervened  between  the  caucus  and  the  election,  but  this 
time  there  was  no  talk  of  bringing  a  new  candidate  into  the 


204  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

field,  and  Davis  was  as  secure  in  the  place  when  the  caucus 
adjourned  as  when  the  vote  was  taken  in  the  legislature.  The 
ballot  was  taken  in  the  respective  branches  of  the  legislature  on 
the  i8th.  In  the  senate  the  vote  stood  Davis  33,  Michael  Doran 
14 ;  in  the  house  it  was  Davis  70,  Doran  26,  Ara  Barton  2. 

On  the  19th  the  legislature  met  in  joint  session  to  hear  the 
reading  of  the  votes  cast  in  the  branches  separately  the  day  before, 
and  Davis  was  then  formally  declared  elected  to  the  senate  for 
the  term  of  six  years,  beginning  March  4,  1887. 

After  this  had  been  done  a  committee  was  appointed  to  wait 
on  Senator  Davis  and  notify  him  of  the  result.  He  soon 
appeared  and  made  a  very  graceful  acceptance  speech,  during 
which  he  took  occasion  to  publicly  recognize  the  service  the  state 
press  had  rendered  him — a  service  which  I  have  reason  to  know 
he  appreciated  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

"I  cannot  let  this  occasion  pass,"  he  said,  "without  acknowledging 
my  obligation  to  my  friends,  and  especially  to  the  press  of  the  state. 
That  the  people's  voice  spoke  through  this  oracle  of  popular  opinion 
makes  my  obligation  to  it  none  the  less,  and  I  here  tender  my  thanks 
for  an  advocacy  which  is  so  often  spoken  in  the  language  of  personal 
affection  as  to  touch  my  heart  and  establish  a  lasting  resting  place  in  my 
memory." 

In  view  of  the  present  sentiment  of  the  Republican  party  on 
protection,  it  is  peculiar  that  the  slight  opposition  there  was  to 
Davis'  election  was  due  to  his  having  made  protection  speeches 
during  the  campaign.  Senator  Daniel  alluded  to  this  in  a  semi- 
apologetic  manner  when  he  nominated  Davis  in  the  caucus, 
declaring  that  his  speeches  during  the  campaign  had  not  been 
objectionable  or  outside  of  party  lines. 

On  Nov.  20,  1886,  which  was  some  days  after  the  election, 
the  Pioneer  Press  made  this  comment: 


"The  disposition  manifested  everywhere  throughout  the  state  to 
hold  Governor  Davis  to  a  strict  accountability  for  the  high  tariff  bias 
apparently  revealed  in  his  speeches  during  the  late  campaign  is  grati- 
fying evidence  of  an  awakened  public  opinion  on  that  subject. 

We  have  reached  a  pass  in  Minnesota  where  high  tariff  opinions 
are  heresy  in  the  view  of  the  mass  of  thoughtful  and  intelligent  voters. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  205 

"High  tariff  bias"  being  a  sin,  "high  tariff  opinion,"  heresy 
in  the  Republican  party  sounds  quite  odd  in  the  light  of  to-day ; 
but  I  record  the  time  when  it  was  permissible,  as  a  matter  of 
history. 

Senator  Davis  was  given  his  second  term  by  a  re-election  in 
1893,  when  he  narrowly  escaped  defeat.  He  was  elected  for  the 
third  time  in  1899  with  absolute  unanimity,  but  death  cut  short 
his  brilliant  career  in  November,  1900.  Up  to  date  no  other  Min- 
nesota senator  has  been  three  times  elected,  but  Knute  Nelson  is 
yet  to  be  heard  from. 


OBSERVATION    THIRTY-ONE. 


The  Defeat  of  Hon.  Wm.  Windom  for  the  Senate  by  Hon. 

D.  M.  Sabin. 


In  the  winter  of  1883,  Senator  William  Windom  was  a  can- 
didate for  re-election  to  the  senate.  He  had  served  one  term 
previously,  had  been  a  member  of  President  Garfield's  cabinet 
and  was  serving  out  a  sub-term  in  the  senate,  which  would 
expire  the  4th  of  March,  1883.  He  and  his  friends  were  very  con- 
fident of  success.  Windom  himself  felt  that  he  was  doing  the 
state  a  favor  in  allowing  them  to  elect  him  again.  He  accord- 
ingly decided  that  he  would  remain  in  his  seat  in  the  senate  and 
let  the  legislature  do  the  work.  The  Pioneer  Press,  which  was 
his  especial  champion,  came  out  and  commended  him  in  the 
highest  terms  for  the  dignity  of  his  position  in  declining  to  come 
on  and  engage  in  the  scramble.  In  the  same  article  that  paper 
berated  Congressman  Mark  H.  Dunnell  of  the  First  district 
because  he  was  in  the  field,  with  headquarters  at  one  of  the 
hotels,  as  a  candidate. 

It  was  really  Windom's  controversy  with  Dunnell  which  led 
to  Windom's  defeat,  though  Dunnell  did  not  loom  up  formid- 
ably as  a  candidate  himself.  As  politics  go,  no  one  could  blame 
Dunnell  for  taking  a  hand  in  the  fight.  He  lived  in  the  first 
congressional  district  and  had  served  four  terms  in  Congress, 
and  began  to  feel  that  he  had  a  life  tenure  on  the  office,  when 
Senator  Windom,  who  also  lived  in  the  first  district,  went  out 
of  his  way,  in  the  summer  of  1882,  to  defeat  .Dunnell  for  renom- 
ination  for  Congress.  He  did  this  on  the  theory  that  Dunnell 
had  senatorial  aspirations,  and  he  thought  to  kill  him  ofif.  But 
it  proved  to  be  a  case  of  a  man  "hoist  by  his  own  petard,"  or 
that  of 

"A  gun  well  aimed  at  duck  or  plover, 
Kicked  back  and  knocked  the  owner  over." 

(206) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  207 

Windom  succeeded  in  defeating  Bunnell  for  the  renomina- 
tion,  and  gave  the  nomination  to  Milo  White.  As  the  sequel 
proved,  Dunnell's  term  and  Windom's  term  both  expired  the 
same  day,  March  4,  1883. 

Windom  had  done  some  impolitic  things.  He  had  sold  his 
residence  in  Winona  and  built  him  a  fine  house  in  Washington, — 
v^hich  to  the  rural  mind  gave  the  impression  that  he  was  get- 
ting rich  on  a  salary  of  $5,000  a  year.  In  fact  it  had  been  given 
out  that  he  never  intended  to  return  to  the  state  when  he  retired 
from  public  Hfe,  and  this,  too,  did  not  aid  him  any. 

While  Bunnell  was  by  no  means  all  of  the  opposition  to 
Windom,  he  was  the  central  figure  around  which  Windom's 
opponents  rallied,  meeting  at  Bunnell's  headquarters  for  their 
conferences  and  for  the  formation  of  their  plots.  The  first  move 
of  the  opposition  to  Windom  was  to  keep  as  many  Republicans 
from  going  into  caucus  as  possible.  This  proved  quite  a  suc- 
cess. There  were  no  Republicans  in  the  legislature,  and  only 
62  went  into  the  caucus.  So  that  while  the  legislature  was 
overwhelmingly  Republican,  less  than  a  majority  of  the  legisla- 
ture were  bound  to  support  Windom.  The  caucus  to  nominate 
a  senator  was  held  on  the  evening  of  Jan.  11,  1883.  At  first  there 
were  20  senators  present  and  39  representatives,  a  total  of  59; 
but  two  or  three  more  drifted  in,  so  that  the  real  strength  of  the 
caucus  was  62.  Everything  was  very  harmonious  in  that  cau- 
cus, for  the  anti- Windom  men  all  remained  away.  Hon.  J.  B. 
Gilfillan  of  Minneapolis  nominated  Mr.  Windom  in  the  caucus, 
and  he  received  60  votes,  after  which  the  nomination  was  made 
unanimous,  and  the  caucus  adjourned. 

The  first  vote  in  the  legislature  was  January  17th.  On  that 
vote,  in  the  senate  Windom  received  23,  Gordon  E.  Cole  5,  Bun- 
nell 4,  and  Thomas  Wilson,  nominee  of  the  Bemocratic  caucus, 
2.  There  were  scattering  6.  In  the  house  Windom  received  46, 
Wilson  25,  Cole  5,  Kindred  4,  Bunnell  6,  B.  A.  Bickinson  3, 
C.  K.  Bavis  2,  Hubbard  2,  scattering  4,  absent  or  not  voting  6. 
This  was  not  a  very  auspicious  opening  for  Windom,  and,  to 
those  who  understand  politics,  presaged  his  defeat.  Of  course, 
as  he  had  not  received  a  majority  in  either  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature, there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  into  joint  session  the 


208  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

next  day  and  resume  the  balloting.  On  January  i8th  two  bal- 
lots were  taken  in  joint  session,  Windom  receiving  65  and  61, 
Wilson  37  and  34,  the  remainder  of  the  votes  being  scattered 
among  the  various  names  already  mentioned,  and  others. 

On  January  iSth  there  were  three  ballots,  Windom  receiving 
58,  57  and  55,  showing  that  his  strength  was  gradually  being  dis- 
sipated. On  the  19th  there  were  four  ballots,  Windom  receiv- 
ing 58,  51,  51  and  50.  The  decline  in  Windom's  vote  was 
ominous,  and  his  rural  friends  saw  that  he  was  defeated,  though 
it  was  some  time  later  before  they  absolutely  admitted  it.  A 
secret  meeting  of  his  friends  was  held  that  evening  at  the  Mer- 
chants hotel,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  bring  out  John  S. 
Pillsbury  as  a  compromise  candidate.  But  this  movement  failed, 
and  it  was  decided  instead  to  telegraph  to  Windom  to  come  to 
St.  Paul.  In  spite  of  the  dignity  so  loudly  praised  by  the  Pio- 
neer Press  he  took  the  first  train,  and  was  in  St.  Paul  on  the 
22nd.  But  his  presence  did  not  seem  to  help,  for  the  first  day 
after  his  arrival  his  vote  fell  to  45. 

For  a  partizan  newspaper,  the  Pioneer  Press  can  enact  the 
role  of  all  kinds  of  a  bull  in  a  china  shop  as  well  as  any  paper  I 
have  ever  known.  On  January  i8th  this  was  illustrated  by  an 
editorial  which  it  published.  Bear  in  mind  this  was  the  time 
when  it  was  important  that  Windom  should  hold  every  friend 
he  had,  and  get  a  good  many  more,  if  he  would  win.  Here  is  an 
extract  from  that  editorial: 

The  choice  of  the  United  States  senator  is  committed  by  law  largely 
to  the  petty,  feeble-minded  creatures  who  usually  contribute  a  large  sec- 
tion, and  sometimes  a  majority,  of  their  party  in  the  legislature. 

That  was  enticing  for  the  Windom  men.  To  make  it  more 
binding  the  same  editorial  followed  up  with  this  paragraph: 

The  results  of  senatorial  elections  are  largely  determined  by  the 
success  of  the  action  on  either  side  in  playing  upon  the  weaknesses,  the 
foibles,  the  prejudices,  the  credulities,  imbecility  or  the  mercenary  little- 
ness of  this  class  of  small-potato  fools  and  knaves. 

The  conciliatory  policy  of  the  Pioneer  Press  was  grand. 
If  this  was  not  enough  to  induce  the  recalcitrant  friends  of 
Windom  to  come  back  to  the  fold,  this  paragraph  was  added : 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  209 

If  Mr.  Windom's  friends  have  the  firmness  and  tenacity  of  purpose 
to  hold  together  to  the  number  of  50,  or  even  45,  votes,  there  is  still  a 
good  fighting  chance  to  win.  There  are  probably  some  one  or  two  dozen 
of  these  ineffably  dirty  creatures  in  the  legislature  who  have  been  wait- 
ing to  be  bought. 

Harmony  with  a  big  "H"  was  evidently  abroad. 

The  balloting  went  on  day  by  day,  and  in  the  joint  convention 
of  January  25th,  W.  H.  Grimshaw,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
legislature^  read  this  pronunciamento  signed  by  himself  and  seven 
others : 

All  Republican  members  of  the  legislature  who  believe  the  election 
of  Senator  Windom  undesirable  are  requested  to  meet  at  the  Metro- 
politan this  evening  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  a  plan  of  action  in  the 
interests  of  the  Republican  party  during  the  present  senatorial  contest. 

W.  H.  GRIMSHAW, 
EVER  SAMPSON, 
H.  A.  FINCH, 
G.  G.  HARTLEY, 
J.  VAN  DYKE, 
W.  P.   SERGEANT, 
T.  PAULSON. 
H.  ANDERSON. 

In  response  to  this  call  45  assembled,  and  others  in  sympathy 
were  accounted  for  up  to  the  number  of  52.  The  caucus  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  rejoicing  over  Windom's  defeat,  which  all 
saw  was  inevitable,  and  every  man  in  that  caucus  was  opposed  to 
him.  No  plan  was  evolved,  and  probably  it  was  not  expected 
that  any  plan  would  be.  I  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  caucus, 
but  I  was  on  the  outskirts,  and  the  only  official  report  that  I 
could  get  of  what  they  did  was  a  facetious  one,  stating  that  they 
passed  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  we  are  the  best  crowd  of  stayers  that  ever  struck 
St.  Paul. 

There  was  not  much  change  in  the  balloting,  Windom  hold- 
ing between  40  and  50  votes  right  along. 

Meantime  there  were  rumors  of  Sabin  being  brought  into  the 
field.  On  the  4th  of  January,  before  the  legislature  met,  I  had 
mentioned  the  fact  in  the  Globe,  which  I  was  then  publishing, 
that  Sabin  might  be  a  possible  contingency.     This  was  the  first 

14 


210  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

public  mention  of  his  name  in  this  connection.  On  the  14th  of 
January  I  quoted  in  the  Globe  this  sentence  from  the  Minne- 
apolis Journal: 

The  Democrats  are  said  to  be  agreeable  to  the  election  of  D.  M. 
Sabin. 

And  to  this  I  added : 

And  a  good  many  others  are  agreeable  besides  the  Democrats. 

Still  there  was  no  formal  movement  to  bring  a  dark  horse  into 
the  race  at  that  time. 

As  the  days  ran  on  I  foresaw  that  the  only  safety  and  suc- 
cess of  the  anti-Windom  movement  was  to  hurry  it  up,  and  the 
consequence  was,  as  I  was  liberal  minded,  ready  to  advise  any- 
body and  everybody,  I  published  in  the  Globe  of  January  29th 
a  ten-line  editorial  under  the  head  of  "Concentrate,"  which  read 
as  follows: 

The  Globe  has  been  able  to  supply  Mr.  Windom  with  some  good 
advice,  and  it  is  now  willing  to  supply  his  opponents  with  some  wise 
counsel. 

The  advice  of  the  Globe  to  the  antis  is  to  concentrate  at  once. 
Delays  are  dangerous.    There  should  and  can  be  an  election  tomorrow. 

As  the  election  actually  did  take  place  within  three  days,  T 
think  I  can  claim  that  my  advice  bore  some  fruit.  I  reported 
the  joint  sessions  of  the  legislature  for  my  own  paper,  and  on 
January  31st  there  was  an  unusually  large  attendance  of  visitors. 
In  my  preface  to  the  proceedings  I  said  this : 

The  renewal  of  interest  resulted  from  the  announcement  by  the 
Globe  that  Hon.  D.  M.  Sabin,  whose  name  had  been  frequently  men- 
tioned as  a  prospective  dark  horse  in  the  scramble  for  the  prize,  was  to 
be  brought  out  and  voted  for,  thus  antagonizing  and  disrupting  the  Win- 
dom forces.  The  confidence  expressed  by  thus  organizing  the  break  for 
Sabin  had  created  an  impression  in  many  quarters  that  it  was  very  possi- 
ble an  election  would  result,  and  it  is  the  weakness  of  human  nature  to 
wish  to  be  on  hand  to  speed  the  rising  king  and  spurn  the  defeated. 

Bear  in  mind  that  all  that  I  have  quoted  was  prior  to  Sabin's 
name  having  been  mentioned  in  the  legislature  in  the  ballot, 
though  there  were  plenty  of  scattering  votes  for  others. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  211 

The  plan  of  the  Sabin  men  was  to  get  the  Democratic  votes 
to  add  to  the  recalcitrant  Republicans  who  refused  to  support 
Windom,  and  thus  elect  him,  the  object  being  not  so  much  to 
promote  Sabin  as  to  defeat  Windom. 

The  Democrats  held  a  caucus  on  the  evening  of  the  day  my 
comments  appeared,  and  decided  that  they  would  support  a 
Republican  as  against  Windom  when  their  vote  would  elect. 
They  fixed  the  figure  at  35,  and  voted  that  when  any  Republican 
got  35  votes  as  against  Windom,  the  Democrats  should  be 
released  from  the  caucus  obligations  to  go  as  they  pleased. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  two  days  after  my  brief  "Concen- 
trate" editorial,  Sabin's  name  was  presented  without  any  form- 
ality in  the  ballot  in  the  joint  convention.  He  was  voted  for  on 
two  ballots,  receiving  17  on  the  first  ballot  and  22  on  the  sec- 
ond. 

In  my  paper  the  next  day  I  had  an  elaborate  review  of  the 
situation  which  perhaps  is  most  briefly  told  by  the  head-lines, 
which  were  as  follows: 

Sable  Sabin — The  Honorable  Member  from  Washington  County 
Looms  Up  in  Formidable  Shape — The  New  Deal  Developed. 

The  next  day  there  were  7  ballots,  Sabin  receiving  on  the 
first  4  ballots,  29,  22,  32  and  33.  J.  N.  Castle  of  Stillwater  was 
a  Democratic  senator,  but  he  was  a  townsman  and  warm  personal 
friend  of  Mr.  Sabin  and  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to,  go  to  him. 
When,  therefore,  Sabin  had  33  votes  on  the  fourth  ballot,  it 
became  evident  that  he  would  have  35  or  more  on  the  next  bal- 
lot. When  Mr.  Castle's  name  was  reached  on  the  roll-call  on  the 
fifth  ballot,  he  explained  his  vote  in  the  following  speech : 

The  Democratic  caucus  adopted  a  resolution  pledging  the  individual 
members  of  their  party  to  stand  by  their  candidate,  Hon.  Thomas  Wilson, 
until  some  Republican  other  than  Mr.  Windom  should  receive  35  votes, 
when  such  alliance  should  end,  and  each  member  be  allowed  to  vote  as 
to  him  seemed  best  under  the  existing  circumstances,  and  the  Hon.  D.  M. 
Sabin  having  received  more  than  35  votes  I  now  avail  myself  of  the  privi- 
lege conferred  by  the  caucus  and  change  my  vote  from  Wilson  to  Sabin. 

Castle  had  been  delegated  as  the  Democratic  leader  to  deter- 
mine when  the  Democrats  should  change,  and  as  Sabin  had  over 
35  when  Castle's  name  was  reached  he  gave  the  signal  for  Sabin. 
The  fifth  ballot  showed  55,  and  then  more  of  the  Democrats  came 


212  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

dropping  into  line.  The  sixth  ballot  gave  Sabin  63,  and  the 
seventh  and  last  ballot  81,  the  exact  number  to  give  him  the 
election. 

Of  course  there  was  the  usual  turbulence  and  applause,  both 
on  account  of  the  joy  of  those  who  wished  to  defeat  Windom 
and  the  pleasure  of  all  to  think  that  the  great  contest  was  over. 

Hon.  Loren  Fletcher  of  MinneapoHs  was  speaker  of  the  house 
at  the  time,  and  in  the  roll  call  his  name  came  last  as  "Mr. 
Speaker."  He  had  been  one  of  Windom's  most  stalwart  and 
pronounced  supporters,  voting  for  him  every  ballot  without  fail. 
It  is  related  of  Fletcher  that  when  the  roll  call  was  in  progress 
on  the  last  ballot  he  watched  it  with  great  intensity,  as  he  was  at 
that  moment,  whatever  he  might  have  been  before,  at  heart  a 
Sabin  man,  knowing  that  Windom's  cause  was  hopeless.  Before 
his  name  was  reached,  the  last  one  upon  the  roll,  he  is  said  to 
have  leaned  over  to  the  clerk  of  the  convention  and  asked  for 
Sabin's  vote.  The  clerk  told  him  it  was  81.  Then  the  next 
utterance  of  the  clerk  was  "Mr.  Speaker,"  to  which  Mr.  Fletcher 
promptly  responded,  "WilHam  Windom."  He  had  found  that 
Sabin  was  elected  without  him,  and  he  remained  loyal  to  Win- 
dom to  the  last — on  the  record.  I  do  not  say  this  to  intimate  that 
Fletcher  was  in  the  least  disloyal  to  his  friend  Windom.  He  had 
nothing  to  do  with  bringing  Sabin  out,  but  if  Sabin  had  had 
only  80  votes  when  his  name  was  reached,  I  think  his  would 
have  been  the  8ist. 

The  balloting  consumed  a  period  of  sixteen  days,  during 
which  time  30  ballots  in  all  were  cast. 

Mr.  Windom  was,  perhaps,  the  most  mortified  man  ever 
within  the  boundaries  of  Minnesota.  When  the  fifth  ballot  on 
the  last  day  showed  that  Sabin's  nomination  was  inevitable. 
Senators  Mart  Chandler  of  Red  Wing  and  J.  B.  Gilfillan  of 
Minneapolis  sent  a  special  messenger  with  a  note  to  Mr.  Win- 
dom at  his  hotel,  asking  him  to  come  to  the  capitol  and  accept 
the  defeat  gracefully.  They  had  been  his  most  stalwart  friends 
during  the  entire  fight.  Windom  never  even  replied  to  the  note, 
but  immediately  packed  his  grip,  and  by  the  time  the  legislature 
had  adjourned  he  had  taken  a  train  out  of  town.  By  accident, 
Capt.  T.  J.  Sheehan  of  Albert  Lea  walked  with  him  to  the  depot, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  213 

but  other  than  that  he  had  no  companion.  He  had  not  thanked 
his  loyal  friends  or  bade  anybody  good-bye.  Mr.  Windom  liter- 
ally shook  the  dust  of  Minnesota  from  his  feet,  and  never 
returned  to  the  state  as  a  resident  thereafter,  meeting  with  a 
tragic  death  at  a  banquet  in  New  York  City  on  Jan.  29,  1890.  He 
was  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  had  just  made  a  speech  at  the 
banquet  when  he  sat  down  and  in  a  few  minutes  his  earthly 
career  was  ended. 

On  February  2nd,  the  day  after  Windom's  defeat,  the  Pio- 
neer Press  made  this  very  truthful  comment: 

The  one  fatal  blunder  of  Mr.  Windom's  campaign  was  committed  by 
himself  in  his  gratuitous  persecution  of  Mr.  Bunnell,  and  he  has  no  one 
else  to  blame  that  he  reaped  the  whirlwind  which  he  had  sown. 

That  was  eminently  true. 

At  the  time  and  since  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  talk 
about  Sabin  having  betrayed  Mr.  Windom  in  his  own  interests. 
Mr.  Sabin  has  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  men,  but  I  believe  it 
only  just  to  his  memory  to  say  that  as  a  somewhat  active  partici- 
pant, and  certainly  an  exceedingly  active  observer  of  the  events, 
this  does  injustice  to  Mr.  Sabin.  Mr.  Sabin  was  taken  sick  the 
last  week  of  the  contest,  and  it  was  alleged  that  his  sickness  was 
a  sham.  I  called  upon  him  personally  several  times  during  his 
illness,  and  believe  I  am  not  mistaken  in  saying  that  his  sickness 
was  absolutely  real.  If  he  was  simulating  he  was  certainly  an 
expert  in  that  line.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  at  the 
time  and  elected  as  a  friend  of  Mr.  Windom.  So  far  as  any 
pubHc  act  of  his  is  concerned  he  was  his  friend.  The  Pioneer 
Press  which  had  strongly  supported  Windom  and  bitterly 
assailed  his  opponents  came  out  the  day  after  the  election  with 
an  elaborate  statement  of  Mr.  Sabin's  position,  stating  that  he 
had  conferred  with  Mr.  Windom  and  talked  the  matter  over  of 
his  (Sabin's)  being  a  candidate,  assuring  Mr.  Windom  that  so 
long  as  there  was  a  possible  chance  for  Windom,  he  (Sabin) 
would  not  allow  his  name  to  be  used,  and  he  did  not.  The 
Pioneer  Press  admitted  it,  and  commended  Sabin;  and  I  think 
I  can  say,  between  what  I  knew  and  the  Pioneer  Press  com- 
bined, if  there  had  been  any  underhanded  plotting  on  the  part 


214  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

of  Sabin  against  his  friend  Windom,  one  or  the  other  of  us  would 
have  known  it.  I  am  sure  the  Pioneer  Press  would  have  told  it 
if  it  had  known  it,  because  it  was  so  vindictive  towards  Win- 
dom's  opponents,  and  as  I  was  a  law  unto  myself,  telHng  any- 
thing I  could  find  out — and  more — I  do  not  think  I  should  have 
hesitated  to  make  it  public  either,  as  I  was  under  no  obligation  to 
either  side,  but  simply  enjoying  the  fight  immensely.  I  say  this 
in  justice  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who  has  gone  beyond, 
because  for  years  afterwards  I  heard  slighting  remarks  made  of 
Mr.  Sabin,  and  as  time  goes  on  they  are  likely  to  become  per- 
manently fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  public. 

While  Sabin  made  his  business  mistakes,  for  which  he  was 
very  severely  and  perhaps  properly  criticised.  I  want  to  put  it  on 
record  in  cold  print  that  I  do  not  believe  the  man  lives  who  can 
prove  that  he  betrayed  Mr.  Windom  in  that  great  contest. 
Neither  do  I  believe  that  anyone  lives  who  would  not  have  done 
exactly  as  Mr.  Sabin  did.  Windom  was  hopelessly  beaten. 
Several  days  before  the  Pioneer  Press  had  pubHshed  an  editorial 
which  began  with  these  words :  "Windom  is  hopelessly  beaten," 
and  if  Mr.  Sabin  had  never  been  born  someone  other  than  Mr. 
Windom  would  have  elected  senator  at  that  time.  Mr.  Bunnell 
had  certainly  evened  the  deal.  No  one  blamed  him,  for  he  was 
pursuing  the  legitimate  course  in  politics  of  cutting  the  throat 
of  a  man  who  had  cut  his  throat. 

During  the  progress  of  the  contest,  caucuses  were  held 
nightly  at  Mr.  DunnelPs  headquarters  at  the  Merchants  hotel, 
and  also  at  General  Sanborn's  office.  A  caucus  was  held  at 
General  Sanborn's  office  the  evening  before  the  regular  caucus 
which  demonstrated  Windom  was  beaten,  the  only  trouble  was 
to  decide  to  whom  the  prize  should  be  given.  The  whole  issue 
at  these  caucuses  was  simply  to  brace  up  the  anti- Windom  men, 
and  make  them  renew  their  pledges  that  under  no  circumstances 
and  at  no  time  would  they  ever  support  Mr.  Windom.  It  was 
that  sort  of  a  combination  which  defeated  Senator  Wilkinson  in 
1865,  and  it  was  the  same  which  defeated  Senator  Windom  in 
1883.  But  Mr.  Windom  had  a  new  lease  of  political  life  in  spite 
of  the  defeat,  as  is  shown  by  other  chapters  in  this  book. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-TWO. 


Donnelly's  Contest  in  Congress  for  Washburn's  Seat. 


It  is  a  great  undertaking  to  contest  a  seat  in  Congress 
with  a  man  who  holds  the  certificate — a  statement  which,  I  am 
sure,  Ignatius  Donnelly  would  verify  if  he  was  living.  Donnelly 
and  W.  D.  Washburn  had  been  opponents  in  the  congressional 
election  of  1878.  Washburn,  on  the  face  of  the  returns,  had 
3,013  majority  over  Donnelly,  and,  of  course,  received  the  cer- 
tificate of  election.  Donnelly  employed  O'Brien  &  Eller  of 
St.  Paul,  as  his  attorneys,  and  gave  notice  of  a  contest ;  Wash- 
burn employed  Bigelow,  Flandrau  &  Clark,  Judge  Flandrau 
being  the  one  actively  in  charge  of  the  case.  There  were  the 
usual  charges  of  fraudulent  voting,  intimidation,  bribery,  etc., 
and  a  big  volume  of  evidence  was  taken.  One  special  point 
made  by  Donnelly  was  that  in  seven  precincts  in  Minneapolis 
the  ballots  were  numbered.  The  legislature  had  passed  a  law 
the  previous  winter  providing  that  the  election  judges  should,  in 
recording  the  voter's  name,  number  it  and  put  a  corresponding 
number  on  the  ballot.  This  practically  destroyed  the  secrecy 
of  the  ballot,  as  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  compare  the  num- 
ber of  the  voter  and  the  number  of  the  ballot  to  ascertain  how 
every  man  voted.  At  the  spring  election  in  St.  Paul  John  B. 
Brisbin  had  brought  suit  to  prevent  the  numbering  of  ballots, 
and  just  before  the  fall  election  in  1878  Judge  Brill  had  decided 
the  law  unconstitutional.  The  matter  was  still  pending  in  the 
supreme  court,  but  until  that  decision  the  finding  of  the  lower 
court  stood.  There  was  no  numbering  of  ballots  in  St.  Paul 
and  none  in  Minneapohs,  except  in  the  seven  precincts.  The 
seven  precincts  were  largely  occupied  by  working  men,  and 

(215) 


216  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Donnelly  assumed  that  the  numbering  of  the  ballots  was  to 
intimidate  them  from  voting  for  him.  They  gave,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, 1,760  majority  for  Washburn.  If  Donnelly  had  lost  in 
the  contest  outside  of  Hennepin  he  would  not  have  had  the 
temerity  to  contest,  but  as  in  the  great  Republican  district  of 
37  counties  he  had  come  into  Hennepin  county  with  472  major- 
ity, he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  contest,  especially  as 
his  case  would  come  before  a  Democratic  Congress. 

The  contest  was  a  long  process.  The  Congress  to  which 
Washburn  was  elected  did  not  meet  until  December,  1879,  a  year 
after  the  election.  Testimony  had  been  taken  throughout  the 
district,  and  the  next  move  was  to  get  it  before  Congress.  Will- 
iam M.  Springer,  a  Democrat  of  Illinois,  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  elections,  and  Van  H.  Manning  of  Mississippi  the 
next  in  order  of  rank.  The  testimony  was  referred  to  a  sub- 
committee, of  which  Manning  was  chairman.  The  matter 
dragged  along  slowly,  but  in  March,  1880,  the  majority  of  the 
sub-committee,  headed  by  Manning,  voted  to  report  to  the  main 
committee  that  Donnelly  was  elected  by  230,  though  the  official 
canvass  had  given  Washburn  3,013.  The  minority  of  the  sub- 
committee, headed  by  J.  Warren  Keifer  of  Ohio  reported  in 
favor  of  Washburn.  Manning's  report  was  accompanied  by 
two  resolutions,  one  ousting  Washburn  and  one  seating  Don- 
nelly. Keifer  also  had  two  resolutions,  one  retaining  Washburn 
and  the  other  rejecting  Donnelly.  On  April  i,  1880,  two  votes 
were  taken  in  the  full  committee,  the  committee  consisting  of  15 
members.  When  the  first  vote  was  taken  there  were  two  pairs, 
and  only  11  votes  actually  cast.  These  stood  six  to  unseat  Wash- 
burn to  five  against.  Without  the  pairs  it  would  have  stood 
eight  to  seven  for  unseating.  On  the  second  resolution  to  seat 
Donnelly  there  was  one  pair  and  one  absentee,  and  the  vote 
stood  eight  for  seating  Donnelly  to  four  against.  So  far  the 
skies  were  bright  for  Donnelly,  but  there  was  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 
While  the  matter  had  not  been  made  public,  it  seemed  that  early 
in  March  an  anonymous  letter  had  been  sent  to  Mr.  Springer 
offering  to  pay  his  wife  $5,000  if  he  would  support  Washburn. 
Springer  was  absent  in  New  York  when  the  letter  came  and  his 
wife  opened  it.     It  read  as  follows: 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  217 

Washington,   March  4th. 
Sir:     If  you  will  keep  Washburn  in  his  seat  in  spite  of  the  Demo- 
crats, we  will  pay  Mrs.  S.  $5,000.     Get  the  thing  quashed  at  once. 

Respectfully, 
When  Springer  returned  from  New  York  he  not  only  found 
the  anonymous  letter,  but  also  a  lengthy  letter  from  H.  H.  Fin- 
ley,  a  friend  of  and  attorney  for  Donnelly.  The  opening  sen- 
tences of  Finley's  letter,  dated  two  days  after  the  anonymous 
epistle,  were  as  follows: 

Washington,  March  6,  1880. 
I  have  heard  with  a  great  deal  of  chagrin  that  you  have  some  doubts 
as  to  the  expediency  of  adopting  the  report  of  the  sub-committee. 
Not  to  do  this  will,  I  know,  leave  you  open  to  the  severest  criticism, 
and  give  color  of  truth  to  reports  which  Washburn's  friends  have  most 
unguardedly  set  afloat. 

Finley  was  a  lawyer  who  formerly  resided  in  St.  Paul,  but 
had  left  there  with  an  unsavory  record.  The  weakest  spot  in 
Donnelly's  armour  was  that  he  had  Finley  for  his  friend. 
Springer  compared  the  handwriting  of  the  anonymous  letter 
with  that  of  Finley's,  and  concluded  that  Finley  wrote  them 
both.  The  theory  was  that  Finley  sought  by  the  anonymous  let- 
ter to  cast  the  imputation  that  Washburn  was  trying  to  bribe  him 
in  order  to  use  it  as  a  club,  as  intimated  in  his  letter  of  the  6th,  to 
keep  him  (Springer)  from  voting  against  Donnelly.  Naturally, 
Springer  was  mad.  He  had  intended  to  keep  his  own  counsel, 
but  before  his  return  Mrs.  Springer  had  shown  the  anonymous 
letter  to  an  intimate  friend,  George  W.  Julian  of  Indiana,  and 
he,  being  a  friend  of  Mr.  Donnelly,  had  informed  him.  In  this 
manner  the  existence  of  the  fatal  letter  became  known  to  Man- 
ning, who  was  pushing  Donnelly's  cause  in  the  committee. 
Springer  turned  against  Donnelly,  and  bad  blood  grew  up 
between  him  and  Manning,  until  finally  Springer  told  the  story 
in  the  house,  and  accused  Finley  of  writing  the  anonymous  letter. 
He  did  not  ask  for  an  investigating  committee,  but  he  placed 
Donnelly,  because  Finley  was  his  friend,  in  a  very  unpleasant 
position. 

On  the  8th  day  of  April  Donnelly  wrote  the  committee  of 
elections  asking  to  have  the  authorship  of  the  anonymous  letter 


218  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

investigated.  On  the  17th  of  April  the  house  ordered  a  com- 
mittee of  seven,  with  John  G.  CarHsle  of  Kentucky,  chairman,  to 
investigate  the  anonymous  letter.  Donnelly  declared  that  he 
thought  William  S.  King,  whom  old  settlers  will  always  recog- 
nize as  plain  "Bill"  King,  or  C.  W.  Johnson,  Washburn's  secre- 
tary, had  written  the  letter.  He  telegraphed  to  St.  Paul  for  sam- 
ples of  their  handwriting,  but  soon  dropped  the  matter,  so  far 
as  Johnson  was  concerned,  to  follow  it  up  with  King.  In  order 
to  supply  the  committee  with  some  of  his  handwritng  King  fur- 
nished them  with  this  characteristic  letter: 

Minneapolis,  May  4th. 
Hon.  J.  G.  Carlisle, 

Dear  Sir:  Your  telegraphic  offer  to  permit  me  to  appear  before 
the  investigating  committee  of  which  you  are  chairman,  to  testify  in 
the  matter  of  Mr.  Donnelly's  anonymous  letter  to  Mr.  Springer  is 
received.  Thanking  you  for  the  courtesy  thus  extended,  I  respectfully 
decline  to  avail  myself  of  this  privilege  you  offer  me.  I  have  in  the 
course  of  my  life  had  many  hard  things  said  against  me,  but  I  thank 
God  for  the  sincere  hope  I  yet  entertain  that  I  have  not  sunk  to  so 
great  depth  that  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  deny  anything  that  Ignatius 
Donnelly  may  say  concerning  me,  even  though  he  may  be  reinforced 
by  the  opinions  of  a  thousand  paid  or  expert  asses,  who  are  so  quick 
to  discover  in  Donnelly's  letter  to  Springer  a  fac-simile  of  my  hand- 
writing. 

As  I  have  just  telegraphed  you,  I  shall  with  great  respect  and 
alacrity  respond  to  any  official  summons  your  committee  may  be  pleased 
to  send  me. 

Again  thanking  you  for  the  courtesy  extended  me,  I  remain, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

WILLIAM  S.  KING. 

This  was  not  all  the  handwriting  which  King  furnished.  He 
wrote  Donnelly  a  seven-page  document,  letter-sheet  size,  which 
was  exceedingly  lively  reading,  and  suggested  that  he  supply 
that  letter  to  the  committee.  Mr.  Donnelly  complied  with  this 
suggestion,  which,  considering  the  extreme  personality  of  the 
epistle,  was  very  surprising.  Though  that  letter  was  printed 
at  the  time,  when  the  Pioneer  Press  unwittingly  reproduced  it, 
12  or  13  years  later,  Donnelly  promptly  sued  them  for  $100,000 
libel,  and  obtained  a  verdict  for  $t.  His  views  had  evidently 
changed  concerning  it  with  the  lapse  of  years. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  219 

All  interest  in  the  election  contest  was  submerged  by  the 
momentous  one  as  to  who  wrote  the  Springer  letter.  Finley 
went  on  the  stand  and  swore  point  blank  that  he  knew  nothing- 
whatever  of  the  matter.  He  produced  eight  witnesses  to  testify 
that  they  thought  he  did  not  write  it,  but  none  of  them  were 
experts.  The  preponderance  of  expert  testimony  was  very 
decidedly  against  Finley,  and  none  of  them  implicated  King. 
The  investigation  was  most  elaborate  and  exhaustive,  making  a 
volume  of  279  pages,  besides  26  pages  of  fac-simile  writing.  The 
26  pages  included  the  anonymous  letter  of  March  4th,  Finley's 
letter  of  March  6th,  King's  letter  which  Donnelly  supplied  the 
committee,  and  several  pages  analyzing  letter  by  letter  the 
anonymous  production  as  contrasted  with  similar  letters  of  the 
alphabet  in  Finley's  effusion  of  March  6th.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  conceive  of  anything  more  searching. 

Though  King  declined  to  go  voluntarily,  which  he  was  justi- 
fied in  doing,  as  it  would  have  been  at  his  own  expense,  he  was 
duly  subpoenaed  and  promptly  responded.  The  crossfire 
between  King  and  Donnelly  when  he  was  on  the  witness  stand 
would  be  about  as  racy  a  chapter  as  Minnesotans  could  have 
suppHed  to  them. 

On  the  i6th  of  June,  1880,  the  last  day  of  that  session  of  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Carlisle  arose  in  the  house  and  submitted  the  following 
statement  from  the  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  anony- 
mous letter: 

I  am  authorized  to  say  that  the  committee,  after  considering  all 
the  testimony  given  by  experts  and  others,  has  unanimously  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  weight  of  testimony  shows  that  the  anonymous 
letter  was  written  and  sent  by  H.  H.  Finley.  So  far  as  the  majority 
is  concerned,  it  does  not  find  that  Donnelly  had  any  connection,  person- 
ally or  otherwise,  in  sending  or  writing  the  anonymous  letter.  Mr. 
Finley  was  the  attorney  and  friend  of  Mr.  Donnelly,  but  the  committee 
does  not  find  that  Donnelly  had  any  knowledge  of  the  anonymous 
letter. 

Mr.  Manning,  from  the  committee  on  elections,  followed  Car- 
lisle with  a  report  saying  that  five  of  the  committee  favored 
unseating  Washburn  and  seating  Donnelly.  Mr.  Keifer  from 
the  same  committee  reported  that  seven  out  of  15  favored  the 


220  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

retention  of  Washburn,  and  lo  out  of  15  were  opposed  to  giving 
Donnelly  the  seat.  The  whole  matter  was  re-committed  to  the 
committee  without  debate,  and  the  house  adjourned  sine  die. 

The  anonymous  letter  episode  had  very  materially  changed 
the  situation  in  the  committee  on  elections  as  it  existed  April 
1st.  If  Donnelly  had  any  previous  chance  it  was  ruined.  Don- 
nelly put  in  a  bill  for  $5,000  for  his  expenses,  and  Washburn 
asked  for  $4,000.  The  next  report  of  the  committee  allowed 
Donnelly  $3,500,  and  Washburn  $2,500.  As  Washburn  held 
the  seat  and  salary,  he  had  the  advantage  financially.  The  report 
of  the  election  committee  made  278  pages,  and  the  reports  of  the 
two  committees  aggregated  557  pages,  besides  the  26  pages 
of  fac-simile.  If  the  contest  had  no  other  result  it  aided  in 
increasing  the  national  debt. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-THREE. 


W.  R.  Merriam's  Election  as  Speaker. 


While  Ex-Gov.  William  R.  Merriam  was  elected  to  the 
lower  branch  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1882,  and  served  in 
the  one  of  1883,  he  was  then  but  a  tyro  in  politics,  and  really 
did  not  appear  as  any  particular  factor  in  affairs.  In  1886 
he  was  again  elected  to  the  house,  and  this  time  he  set  his 
mark  for  the  speakership,  possibly  thinking  it  was  due  him 
by  inheritance,  as  his  father  had  been  speaker  in  1870  and 
1871.  At  all  events,  when  the  legislature  met  in  January, 
1887,  there  was  a  big  ruction  on  the  speakership.  Ignatius 
Donnelly  was  a  member  of  the  house,  and  though  he  pro- 
fessed to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  he  was 
recognized  as  a  Republican,  and  Merriam's  great  stake  was 
to  secure  the  support  of  Donnelly.  While  Donnelly,  when 
living,  was  violently  assailed  by  political  enemies,  there  was 
undoubtedly  much  injustice  done  him.  He  loved  political 
power,  and  was  always  ready  to  use  his  position  to  secure 
that  when  he  would- spurn  the  offer  of  anything  else.  When, 
therefore,  Merriam  informed  him  that  he  could  have  such  com- 
mittee positions  as  he  wished,  if  he  (Merriam)  was  chosen 
speaker,  Mr.  Donnelly  did  what  many  another  man  would 
have  done,  and  what  is  repeated  every  session  of  the  legis- 
lature, supported  the  man  who  would  give  him  the  desired 
committee  positions.  This  was  shrewd  tactics  on  the  part  of 
Merriam,  and  bore  fruit.  The  legislature  was  due  to  meet  on 
January  4th,  and  Donnelly  called  a  Farmers'  Alliance  caucus  at 
10:30  a.  m.,  January  3d.     Samuel  Reese  of  Kandiyohi  county 

(221) 


222  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

presided,  and  when  the  caucus  had  been  organized  it  devel- 
oped that  its  object  was  to  call  the  candidates  for  speaker  be- 
fore them  to  have  them  define  their  positions  relative  to  the 
treatment  which  should  be  accorded  to  the  farmers.  George 
W.  Buffum,  of  Steele  County,  William  Lee,  of  Todd  County, 
and  William  R.  Merriam,  of  St.  Paul,  were  the  candidates. 
Buffum  was  first  brought  in,  and,  after  a  very  ungracious  in- 
troduction, said: 

If  I  am  elected  speaker  I  will  endeavor  to  treat  everybody  fairly 
and  satisfy  the  members  that  I  am  in  sympathy  with  them. 

Merriam  was  next  introduced,  and  his  sauviter  in  modo, 
fortiter  in  re  was  at  once  apparent.  He  made  the  audience 
happy  immediately  by  saying,  "I  feel  more  than  grateful  for 
the  opportunity  of  being  here,"  and  added  several  more  sen- 
tences indicating  that  he  was  rejoiced  at  meeting  his  long- 
lost  brothers.  Having  thus  made  the  farmers  of  the  legisla- 
lature  feel  that  he  was  delighted  to  meet  them  on  an  equal- 
ity, he  added: 

I  am  aware  that  the  warehouse  and  grain  laws  will  secure  much 
consideration,  and  I  am  free  to  say  that  if  you  select  me  as  your  pre- 
siding officer  I  will  see  that  you  are  fairly  and  equitably  represented  on 
the  committees. 

Mr.  Lee  followed,  stating  that  he  was  a  Republican  and  did 
not  exactly  see  why  he  should  explain,  but  finally  vouchsafed 
to  say: 

If  I  am  elected,  I  will  give  the  farmers  a  fair  representation  on  the 
committees. 

This  ended  the  catechism,  and  Merriam  had  caught  the 
crowd. 

The  call  for  the  Republican  caucus  was  not  limited  to  po- 
litical parties,  all  the  farmers  in  the  legislature  being  invited. 

Tom  Lucas,  of  Minneapolis,  who  used  to  farm  a  good  deal 
— with  his  mouth — was  there,  and  by  asking  a  question  he 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  223 

gave  Mr.  Donnelly  an  opportunity  to  say  that  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance men  could  properly  go  into  the  Republican  caucus.  That 
was  the  whole  meat  of  the  meeting,  and  Tom  unwittingly 
brought  it  out.  It  was  to  keep  the  farmers  from  bolting  that 
the  "Farmers'  Caucus"  had  been  invented.  The  conclusion  of 
the  meeting  was  thus  reported  in  the  Pioneer  Press  of  Jan- 
uary 4th : 

"John  M.  Powers  of  Rice  then  made  a  violent  speech,  in 
which  he  charged  that  in  the  cauctis  now  going  on  for  speak- 
ership, members  were  being  bought  up.  He  was  called  down 
by  a  member,  and  the  chair  decided  that  Mr.  Powers  was  out 
of  order,  and  he  subsided." 

The  same  evening  the  Republicans  held  their  caucus,  with 
D.  A.  Morrison,  of  Olmstead,  chairman,  and  Leo  Lum,  of 
Crow  Wing,  secretary.  E.  Mattson,  of  Wilkin,  nominated 
Merriam  for  speaker,  and  H.  F.  Barker,  of  Isanti,  and  E.  G. 
Rogers,  of  St.  Paul,  seconded. 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  William  E.  Lee  arose  and 
said : 

My  name  has  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  speakership. 
The  time  has  come  when  any  man's  ambition  must  be  a  secondary 
consideration.  The  time  has  come  when  our  40,000  Republican  majority 
is  reduced  to  a  beggarly  2,500.  I  am  here  to  say,  that  this  result  has 
been  brought  about  by  bad  management.  I  believe  that  to  elect  any 
man  speaker  who  in  the  past  has  shown  no  sympathy  with  the  great 
questions  of  the  day,  would  be  a  mistake.  I  desire  to  withdraw  my 
name  and  to  present  the  name  of  George  W.  BufTum  of  Steele  county. 

Then  followed  the  vote.  There  were  66  present,  neces- 
sary to  choice,  34.  Merriam  received  47,  Bufifum  17,  scatter- 
ing 2.  Of  course,  that  was  equivalent  to  an  election.  The 
next  day  in  the  house  Merriam  received  71  votes,  to  30  cast 
for  E.  T.  Champion,  of  Blue  Earth  County. 

The  St.  Paul  Dispatch  of  that  date,  Jan,  4,  1887,  under 
the  same  ownership  as  at  present,  had  this  to  say  of  the  re- 
sult: 

William  R.  Merriam  is  elected  speaker.  He  has  been  elected 
against  the  opposition  of  the  Dispatch,  as  he  has  been  against  the 
clearly  expressed  will  of  not  only  the  Republicans  of  this  state,  but  as 


224  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

against  the  wishes  of  seven-eights  of  the  men  who  cast  their  ballots 
in  our  election  last  fall. 

The  influences  and  interests  which  Mr.  Merriam  represents  in  public 
life  have  been  spurned  by  the  people  of  Minnesota. 

There  is  nothing  which  the  Dispatch  has  said  either  against  Mr. 
Merriam's  fitness,  against  the  wisdom  of  his  selection,  or  in  favor  of 
any  of  his  competitors,  that  we  do  not  repeat  and  reiterate. 

When  the  speaker  announced  his  committees,  Mr.  Don- 
nelly appeared  as  chairman'  of  the  committee  on  railroads,  and 
as  a  member  of  the  judiciary,  educational,  and  grain  and  ware- 
house inspection  committees.  He  was  entitled  to  the  posi- 
tions for  services  rendered  the  speaker  in  advance,  and,  as 
politics  goes,  had  secured  them  legitimately;  but  his  commit- 
tee positions  enabled  him  to  prove  such  a  "bull  in  a  china 
shop"  that  so  long  as  he  lived  the  Republicans  never  there- 
after permitted  him  to  be  ranked  as  one  of  them  lest  he  might 
hold  another  caucus. 

It  can  truly  be  said  of  him,  however,  that  he  gave  the 
subsequent  Gov.  Merriam  his  start  in  political  life,  as  it 
was  the  speakership,  combined  with  other  influences  not  nec- 
essary to  recount  at  this  stage  of  my  book,  which  gave  him  the 
governorship  a  little  later. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-FOUR. 


The  Brass  Kettle  Campaign. 


"The  Brass  Kettle  Campaigri"  of  1878  was  one  of  the  great 
historical  events  of  the  state.  Dr.  J.  H.  Stewart,  of  St.  Paul, 
had  been  elected  to  Congress  in  1876  by  the  Republicans,  to 
represent  the  Third  Congressional  District.  By  party  usage 
which  had  become  so  fixed  as  to  be  an  unwritten  law,  he  was 
entitled  to  a  second  term.  W.  D.  Washburn,  of  Minneapolis, 
who  was  first  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  1868,  but  withdrew 
when  the  split  in  the  party  occurred,  had  been  patiently  wait- 
ing for  the  next  opportunity,  and  ten  years  in  a  man's  life  is 
a  good  while.  He  accordingly  decided  to  enter  the  race  to 
succeed  Dr.  Stewart,  and  this  venture  had  the  cordial  co- 
operation of  Loren  Fletcher,  who  was  the  chairman  of  the 
Republican  district  committee.  It  was  Mr.  Fletcher's  serv- 
ices, which  his  position  enabled  him  to  render,  that  largely 
determined  the  result,  and  it  was  the  failure  of  Mr.  Washburn 
to  reciprocate  when  Fletcher  wanted  to  run  for  Congress  in 
1884,  which  led  to  a  coldness  between  these  prominent  citizens 
which  continued  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  accordance  with  the  custom  well  known  in  politics, 
where  a  competitor  is  to  be  "done  up,"  Mr.  Fletcher  called  an 
early  convention,  while  Congress  was  still  in  session,  and  Dr. 
Stewart  absent  in  Washington.  Possibly  there  would  have 
been  no  different  result  if  the  convention  had  been  held  later, 
but  certainly  it  gave  Mr.  Washburn  an  advantage  at  the  start, 
and  was  a  serious  handicap  to  Stewart.  The  convention  was 
called  in  June,  to  be  held  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  in  Minne- 
apolis,  on   the    loth   of  July.     The   apportionment   provided 

225 

15 


226  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

that  there  should  be  one  delegate  at  large  from  each  county, 
and  one  for  each  250  votes  cast  for  President  Hayes  in  1876. 
The  state  convention  and  the  other  districts  made  their  basis 
of  apportionment  of  delegates  on  the  vote  for  Governor  Pills- 
bury  in  1877,  instead  of  the  vote  for  Hayes  in  1876.  There 
was,  of  course,  the  usual  row  between  St,  Paul  and  Minne- 
apolis, which  was  intensified  by  the  fact  that  a  Minneapolis 
man  was  trying  to  defeat  a  St.  Paul  man  when  the  St.  Paul 
man  had  had  but  one  term.  St.  Paul,  accordingly,  set  up  two 
grounds  of  complaint:  one  was  what  they  termed  a  ''snap" 
call,  and  the  other  objecting  to  basing  the  apportionment  on 
1876  instead  of  on  1877.  The  Pioneer  Press,  which  has 
thrown  a  good  many  firebrands  into  its  party  ranks  in  years 
gone  by,  belabored  Fletcher  and  incidentally  Washburn  over 
Fletcher's  shoulders.  Under  the  district  call  Ramsey  County 
was  entitled  to  12  delegates  and  Hennepin  to  24.  When  the 
Ramsey  County  convention  met  there  was  blood  on  the  moon, 
and  after  vigorous  speeches  and  strong  resolutions  they  de- 
cided to  put  the  matter  to  a  test  by  making  it  a  tie  and  send- 
ing 24  delegates  of  their  own.  Ramsey  county  knew,  of 
course,  that  it  was  not  entitled  to  so  many,  even  if  it  deserved 
more  than  12;  but  the  St.  Paul  Republicans,  if  they  were  to 
lose  the  Congressman,  were  bound  to  have  the  fun  of  a  fight. 
They  accordingly  went  to  Minneapolis  on  the  loth  of  July, 
waving  their  battle-flag.  Things  looked  rather  ominous. 
Knute  Nelson  of  Alexandria  was  chosen  chairman  of  the 
convention,  and  after  the  usual  preliminaries  a  recess  was 
taken  to  see  if  some  compromise  could  not  be  patched  up  be- 
tween the  warring  factions.  It  was  conceded  that  Washburn 
had  the  convention,  and  he  having  lost  ten  years  of  his  po- 
litical career  owing  to  one  split  in  the  party,  neither  he  nor 
his  friends  desired  to  have  any  further  trouble.  Congress  had 
adjourned,  and  Dr.  Stewart  had  returned  home,  by  this  time, 
but  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  recoup  his  shattered  political 
fortunes,  even  if  he  ever  could  have  done  so.  He  was  very 
indignant,  but  this  did  no  particular  harm  as  long  as  Wash- 
burn had  the  delegates.  The  Washburn  men  proposed  a  con- 
ference between  the  delegations  from  the  two  counties.  Ram- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  227 

sey  and  Hennepin.  This  was  held  without  results,  but  later 
a  second  conference  of  a  portion  of  each  conference  brought 
order  out  of  chaos.  This  sub-committee  consisted  on  the  part 
of  Ramsey  County  of  W.  R.  Marshall,  C.  K.  Davis,  E.  F. 
Drake,  R.  Barden,  and  F.  Driscoll ;  on  the  part  of  Hennepin 
County,  the  committee  was  R.  B.  Langdon,  C.  H.  Pettit,  J. 
B.  Gilfillan,  J.  M.  Shaw  and  George  H.  Keith.  The  first  offer 
made  by  Hennepin  County  was  to  allow  each  county  to  have 
i8  votes.  That  was  reducing  Hennepin  6  and  increasing  Ram- 
sey 6.  The  Ramsey  County  men  knew  that  Stewart  was  lost, 
and  they  also  knew  that  Ramsey  was  not  entitled  to  as  large 
a  vote  as  Hennepin.  They  had  professed  all  the  time  to  be 
fighting  for  the  principle  of  apportionment  rather  than  to  get 
more  delegates,  and  so  they  refused  this  proposition.  It  was 
finally  agreed  that  Ramsey  county  should  have  I2  votes  and 
Hennepin  i6,  and  that  in  the  future  all  apportionments  of 
delegates  should  be  based  on  the  vote  of  the  previous  year. 
The  Hennepin  delegates  were  delighted  at  the  settlement,  as  it 
prevented  trouble  after  the  nomination. 

When  the  report  of  the  sub-committee  was  made  to  the  con- 
vention after  the  recess,  .it  was  quickly  adopted,  and  there  was 
nothing  further  to  do  but  to  go  through  the  motions  of  the 
nomination.  J.  B.  Gilfillan  presented  the  name  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn. Capt.  Russell  Blakely,  of  St.  Paul,  while  regretting 
that  Dr.  Stewart  could  not  be  his  own  successor,  said  that 
he  (Stewart)  declined  to  have  his  name  presented,  and  he  ac- 
cordingly moved  that  Washburn  be  nominated  unanimously. 
This  was  done,  though  it  was  not  a  pleasant  dose  for  St.  Paul. 

The  nomination  of  Washburn  at  once  brought  forward  in 
the  public  mind  the  antagonism  between  Ignatius  Donnelly 
and  the  Washburn  family,  and  as  the  district  was  strongly 
Republican,  none  of  the  dyed-in-the-wool  Democrats  were  anx- 
ious to  make  the  race.  The  Democratic  convention  was  held 
on  the  6th  of  September,  with  W.  M.  Campbell,  of  Meeker^ 
for  chairman,  and  W.  L.  Kelly,  of  St.  Paul,  as  secretary. 
There  was  no  occasion  for  quarreling  in  this  convention,  as 
"prospects  for  success  were  not  dangerous.  The  result  of  the 
informal  ballot  was  Donnelly  55,  Eugene  M.  Wilson,  of  Min- 


228  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

neapolis  24,  H.  H.  Sibley  of  St.  Paul  7,  and  W.  W.  McNair 
of  Minneapolis  5 — a  total  of  91.  Mr.  McNair  promptly  with- 
drew his  name,  and  the  first  formal  ballot  stood  Donnelly  60, 
Wilson  18.  Thirteen  of  the  hardshells  had  dedined  to  vote  at 
all  rather  than  vote  for  Donnelly,  because  he  was  not  born  in  the 
Democratic  faith. 

Following  the  nomination  of  Donnelly,  the  famous  and  excit- 
ing "brass  kettle"  campaign  occurred.  The  "brass  kettle"  was 
a  two-quart  brass  measure  used  by  buyers  for  grading  wheat. 
It  was  claimed  that  the  buyers  systematically  swindled  the  farm- 
ers by  the  manipulation  of  the  kettle.  This  was  done  in  the 
interest  of  the  millers,  as  alleged,  and  Mr.  Washburn  was  a 
miller.  It  was  claimed  that  by  filling  the  kettle  rapidly,  by  the 
stroke,  and  by  the  manipulation  of  the  scale  beam,  an  adept  could 
make  a  difference  of  one  or  two  grades  in  a  load  of  wheat.  In 
other  words,  wheat  which  should  grade  No.  i  would  be  graded 
No.  2  or  No.  3,  or  even  worse,  according  to  the  conscience  of  the 
man  who  handled  the  brass  kettle. 

Of  course,  I  could  not  see  the  chance  for  a  fight  proceeding 
without  being  in  it,  and  there  was  no  contest  which  has  ever 
occurred  in  the  state  in  which  I  ever  took  a  more  active  part  than 
in  the  brass  kettle  affair. 

W.  L.  Banning  was  chairman  of  the  Donnelly  district  com- 
mittee, and  I  was  a  member  of  that  committee,  as  well 
as  the  publisher  of  the  Globe  at  the  time.  The  hard 
shell  Democrats  were  very  much  opposed  to  Donnelly,  and 
with  all  our  efforts  the  total  campaign  fund  that  we  could  raise 
was  $600.  Even  with  that  small  sum  it  was  the  most  spirited 
campaign  ever  seen  in  the  state.  The  farmers  were  aroused 
almost  to  a  riotous  pitch,  and  they  had  reason  to  be.  Our 
charges  of  swindling  by  the  use  of  the  brass  kettle  were  abso- 
lutely true,  and  every  farmer  who  sold  a  load  of  wheat  that  year 
knew  they  were  true,  and  voted  accordingly.  Perhaps  no  better 
evidence  of  their  truth  can  be  cited  than  the  fact  that  the  legis- 
lature, at  its  next  session,  passed  a  law  regulating  the  use  of  the 
brass  kettle  and  so  curtailing  it  that  it  could  no  longer  be  used 
as  a  means  of  swindling  the  farmers. 

The  Third  district  was  then  enormous  in  its  proportions, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  229 

embracing  the  greater  part  of  all  the  wheat-growing  counties  in 
the  state.  There  were  27  counties,  as  follows :  Aitkin,  Anoka, 
Becker,  Benton,  Big  Stone,  Carlton,  Cass,  Chisago,  Clay,  Crow 
Wing,  Douglas,  Grant,  Hennepin,  Isanti,  Kanabec,  Kittson,  Lac 
qui  Parle,  Lake,  Meeker,  Mille  Lacs,  Morrison,  Otter  Tail,  Pine, 
Polk,  Pope,  Ramsey,  St.  Louis,  Sherburne,  Stearns,  Stevens, 
Todd,  Traverse,  Wadena,  Washington,  Wilkin,  Wright,  Yellow 
Medicine. 

The  district  was  not  only  immense  geographically,  but  it  con- 
tained the  great  bulk  of  the  Republican  vote  in  the  state. 

It  was  a  tremendous  task  to  make  the  canvass,  especially  as 
Donnelly  did  not  have  the  cordial  support  of  the  Democrats. 
Comparatively  few  took  the  stump  for  him,  but  he  made  as 
thorough  a  canvass  as  the  physical  strength  of  one  able-bodied 
man  could  do. 

In  a  foolish  outburst  of  zeal  I  gave  my  daily  paper  for  the 
campaign  for  25  cents,  and  sent  a  canvasser  with  Donnelly. 
Every  one  of  his  meetings  concluded  with  a  speech  by  my  can- 
vasser, calling  for  subscriptions  at  the  25-cent  rate,  and  the  more 
I  got  the  worse  off  I  was.  They  rolled  in  by  the  thousand,  and  I 
question  whether  any  daily  paper  up  to  this  date  has  as  many 
subscribers  in  those  counties  as  I  had  at  that  time.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  the  brass  kettle  side  of  the  campaign  was  very 
thoroughly  aired;  the  farmers  took  up  the  cry,  and  when  the 
votes  were  counted  it  was  found  that,  leaving  out  Hennepin 
county,  Donnelly  had  carried  the  district  by  472.  When  it  was 
considered  that  the  Republican  majority  in  the  district  was  over- 
whelming, the  work  done  is  absolutely  wonderful,  and  it  was 
very  materially  aided  by  my  25-cent  newspaper.  That  move- 
ment, however,  involved  an  expenditure  which  I  would  not  again 
incur  to  elect  an  angel  from  heaven  to  Congress  or  to  defeat  a 
fiend  incarnate.  And  in  usmg  these  terms  I  do  not  intend  to 
apostrophize  Donnelly  or  stigmatize  Washburn.  One  is  already 
waiting  for  the  other  at  the  meeting  place,  and  I  will  leave  them 
to  fight  out  the  rest  of  the  battle  themselves,  only  saying  in  pass- 
ing that  if  I  had  to  do  it  over  again  it  wouldn't  be  done.  I  never 
took  the  trouble  to  figure  my  loss,  but  I  know  it  was  a  good 
many  thousand  dollars. 


230  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

In  St.  Paul  many  Democrats  voted  for  Washburn,  and 
between  400  and  500  ballots  were  cast  with  Donnelly's  name 
erased  and  no  one  substituted.  The  vote  in  Hennepin  county 
was  somewhat  startling.  Washburn  received  6,284  and  Don- 
nelly 2,799,  giving  Washburn  3,485  majority  in  that  county, 
and  3,013  in  the  district.  The  country  had  pitted  itself  against 
the  city,  and  the  city  had  won. 

As  one  of  the  results,  however,  the  next  legislature  passed 
a  bill  making  the  half-bushel  measure  the  standard  to  be  used 
in  grading,  instead  of  the  obnoxious  brass  kettle.  It  was  pro- 
vided that  by  mutual  consent  a  two-quart  measure  could  be 
used,  with  such  device  for  filling  as  might  be  adopted  by  the 
Farmers'  Board  of  Trade.  This  resulted  in  placing  what  was 
termed  the  Stacey  filler  on  the  market,  which  was  an  attachment 
to  the  brass  kettle,  which  compelled  the  filling  of  the  small  meas- 
ure slowly  and  made  the  stroke  equable. 

Iii  1885,  by  revision  of  the  warehouse  and  grain  laws,  the 
law  of  1879  was  repealed,  and  the  brass  kettle  is  still  in  use  simply 
by  mutual  consent,  though  it  has  never  been  manipulated  since 
1878  as  it  was  during  that  year. 

I  have  always  congratulated  myself  that  the  "brass  kettle 
campaign"  made  a  good  many  millions  of  dollars  difference  to 
the  farmers  of  Minnesota  as  the  years  rolled  on ;  and  at  the 
same  time  I  am  free  to  say  that  my  philanthropy  is  not  of  such  a 
thrilling  and  violent  nature  that  I  would  make  another  campaign 
of  the  kind  for  the  farmers  or  anybody  else.  It  is  an  illustra- 
tion of  doing  good  by  accident  and  being  sorry  for  it  afterwards. 

The  election  contest  covered  in  another  chapter  grew  out  of 
the  campaign  of  1878. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-FIVE. 


Pillsbury's  Defeat  for  the  Fourth  Term  and  the  Dawning  of 

Gov.  Hubbard. 


The  contest  for  the  RepubHcan  nomination  for  governor  in 
i88i  was  an  echo  of  the  passing  of  the  Ramsey  dynasty  in  the 
poHtics  of  Minnesota.  In  speaking  of  Ramsey  I  do  not  refer 
to  him  personally,  but  only  as  a  representative  of  a  powerful 
faction  in  the  Republican  party  which  made  him  their  leader, 
and  around  whose  standard  they  loyally  and  successfully  rallied 
for  many  years. 

Ramsey,  personally,  was  neither  very  active  nor  offensive 
during  all  these  years,  but  he  stood  by  his  friends — an  element 
in  his  character  which  was  highly  commendatory. 

Hon.  John  S.  Pillsbury  of  Minneapolis  was,  in  1881,  serving 
his  third  term  as  governor.  He  had  made  a  very  acceptable 
official,  and  had  given  the  state  a  good  business  administration. 
He  had,  withal,  made  many  strong  friends  in  St.  Paul  by  his 
action  at  the  time  of  the  burning  of  the  capitol  in  the  spring  of 
1881.  The  plan  was  to  delay  the  rebuilding  of  the  capitol,  thus 
giving  an  opportunity  for  some  possible  change  in  its  location. 
The  fact  that  Governor  Pillsbury,  a  resident  of  MinneapoHs, 
took  issue  with  Fletcher,  another  resident  of  the  same  city,  and 
by  his  influence  largely  aided  in  securing  an  immediate  appro- 
priation from  the  legislature  for  another  building,  had  given  him 
a  strength  in  St.  Paul  which  otherwise  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible for  him  to  secure. 

The  movement  in  favor  of  MinneapoHs  at  the  time  of  the 
burning  of  the  capitol  in  1881  was  largely  led  by  Hon.  Loren 
Fletcher,  member  of  the  legislature  from  Minneapolis.     It  in 

(231) 


232  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

reality  delayed  Fletcher  going  to  Congress  some  eight  years, 
for  later,  when  he  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  and  Hennepin 
and  Ramsey  counties  were  in  the  same  district,  Ramsey  county 
had  a  candidate  and  Hennepin  sprang  another  candidate  in  the 
person  of  Hon.  J.  B.  Gilfillan,  which  would  not  have  been  done 
if  Ramsey  county  had  not  been  so  unalterably  opposed  to  Mr. 
Fletcher.  So  that  Mr.  Fletcher's  loyalty  to  his  own  city  proved 
for  him  a  disastrous  political  move,  though  subsequently  he 
obtained  the  coveted  prize  and  went  to  Congress  for  a  term  of 
years.  It  was  rather  ungrateful  for  Minneapolis  to  have  elected 
Lind  to  Congress  ovpr  Fletcher  in  1902. 

Mr.  Pillsbury  had  been  in  the  Ramsey  coterie  of  politicians, 
and  his  administration  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  retained  in 
official  position  many  of  the  henchmen  of  the  dethroned  leader. 
The  Pioneer  Press,  always  the  champion  of  Ramsey,  was  at  this 
time  specially  zealous  in  urging  the  party  to  give  Pillsbury  a 
fourth  term,  though  third  terms  are  not  even  yet  popular.  If 
there  had  been  only  that  which  the  newspaper  champion  was 
seeking  for  Pillsbury  the  claim  would  have  been  well  nigh  irre- 
sistible, but  when  it  came  to  asking  a  fourth  term  that  was  the 
vulnerable  spot  in  the  Pillsbury  armour  which  was  easily  found 
and  pierced  by  the  shafts  of  the  opposing  forces. 

Gen.  L.  F.  Hubbard  of  Red  Wing,  was  the  candidate  of  the 
opposition  to  Pillsbury.  In  the  eyes  of  the  old  Ramsey  dynasty 
General  Hubbard  had  committed  two  unpardonable  sins  which 
could  neither  be  forgiven  nor  forgotten.  In  1868,  when  the 
split  in  the  Third  Congressional  district  occurred.  General  Hub- 
bard was  given  the  nomination  for  Congress  by  the  Ramsey 
wing  of  the  party  in  opposition  to  Donnelly.  After  a  brief 
period  he  threw  consternation  and  almost  defeat  into  the  Ram- 
sey ranks  by  withdrawing  from  the  *canvass.  Again,  in  1873, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  in  the  memorable  contest 
between  Governor  Davis  and  Senator  Ramsey,  which  finally 
resulted  in  McMillan  being  selected  as  Ramsey's  successor. 
General  Hubbard  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  Davis  movement, 
and  the  advocacy  of  Pillsbury  on  the  part  of  the  Pioneer  Press 
was  not  animated  so  much  by  love  for  him  as  by  hatred  of 
Hubbard.     Weeks  before  the  state  convention   was  held  that 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  233 

paper  was  pouring  hot  shot  into  the  ranks  of  the  Hubbard  fac- 
tion. It  denounced  him  as  the  candidate  of  the  prison  ring, 
censured  his  friend  H.  B.  Wilson  of  Red  Wing,  who  was  work- 
ing for  him,  claiming  that  he  (Wilson)  was  animated  solely  by  a 
desire  to  be  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 

Another  element  of  objection  to  Hubbard  was  that  Davis, 
and  possibly  Washburn,  favored  him.  The  party  machinery 
was  really  in  the  hands  of  the  Hubbard  forces,  and  the  state  con- 
vention was  not  called  until  September  28th,  an  unusually  late 
period.  The  Pioneer  Press  denounced  this,  and  said  it  must  have 
been  done  on  the  ground  that  the  state  was  so  strongly  Repub- 
lican that  it  was  not  necessary  to  make  any  canvass  for  the 
ticket — which  was  not  far  from  the  truth.  Capt.  H.  A.  Castle 
was  chairman  of  the  Ramsey  county  committee.  He  was  an 
ardent  supporter  of  Hubbard,  and  when  the  call  for  the  Ramsey 
county  convention  was  issued  on  a  few  days'  notice,  fixing  the 
primaries  on  Saturday,  September  nth  and  the  convention  for 
Monday,  September  13th,  the  rage  of  the  Ramsey  organ  knew 
no  bounds. 

On  September  7th  it  had  a  double-leaded  column  editorial 
for  Pillsbury,  denouncing  the  Ramsey  county  Republicans  for 
bringing  out  the  call,  claiming  that  it  was  done  by  the  Davis 
men  to  influence  the  state  for  Hubbard,  and  calling  on  Pills- 
bury's  friends  to  capture  the  convention. 

On  September  8th  it  contained  this  drive  at  Capt.  Castle: 

There  is  universal  indignation  among  the  Republicans  of  St.  Paul 
at  the  action  of  the  county  committee,  not  only  in  precipitating  the 
primaries  three  weeks,  relatively,  before  the  usual  time,  but  more 
especially  at  the  gross  and  palpable  trick  which  Captain  Castle  has 
attempted  to  play  on  the  Republicans  of  St.  Paul,  by  calling  the  prim- 
aries by  wards,  instead  of  by  precincts,  according  to  the  usual  custom 
in  such  cases. 

The  morning  before  the  primaries  the  Pioneer  Press  had  a 
foaming  editorial,  declaring  that  "St.  Paul  owes  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  John  S.  Pillsbury."  And  in  answer  to  the  oft-repeated 
charge  that  Pillsbury  was  not  a  candidate  said: 


234  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

If  nominated  by  the  unasked-for  suffrages  of  the  people  of  Minne- 
sota he  will  not  decline. 

The  Ramsey  county  convention  was  a  mixed  Pillsbury 
victory.  The  anti-Hubbardites  had  induced  Hon.  A.  R.  McGill 
of  St.  Peter  to  be  a  candidate,  and  between  the  McGill  and  Pills- 
bury  forces  they  had  carried  the  convention  by  a  narrow  margin. 

When  the  Ramsey  county  convention  was  called  to  order 
there  was  an  immediate  test  of  strength.  The  Hubbard  forces 
nominated  C.  K.  Davis  for  chairman,  and  the  anti-Hubbard  men 
selected  Capt.  Russel  Blakely  as  their  leader.  The  votes  stood 
Blakely  28,  Davis  25. 

The  delegates  to  the  convention  were  divided  between  friends 
of  Pillsbury  and  McGill,  but  Hubbard  was  not  allowed  to  have 
a  friend  in  the  list.  In  view  of  changes  which  have  since 
occurred  the  names  of  those  sent  to  the  state  convention  from 
Ramsey  county  are  worthy  of  record.  They  were :  R.  Blakely, 
H.  P.  Upham,  J.  C.  Haupt,  Stanford  Newell,  J.  P.  Jacobson, 
George  Watson,  F.  Driscoll,  S.  S.  Taylor,  C.  M.  Bell,  R.  C. 
Wiley,  William  Bickel  and  M.  D.  Flower. 

The  Hubbard  forces  were  much  demoralized,  but  sprung 
quite  a  disorganizing  movement  on  the  convention  just  before 
the  adjournment.  C.  D.  Gilfillan,  who  had  from  the  early  his- 
tory of  state  politics,  been  hostile  to  the  Ramsey  wing  of  the 
party,  offered  a  resolution  instructing  the  delegates  to  support 
Pillsbury  for  governor  in  the  state  convention.  He  stated  that 
he  was  not  in  favor  of  Pillsbury,  and  did  not  think  the  convention 
was,  but  he  wanted  the  matter  tested.  Capt.  Castle  followed 
with  a  resolution  instructing  the  delegates  to  support  McGill  in 
the  state  convention.  Personally  he  was  for  Hubbard.  These 
resolutions  were  firebrands.  The  Pillsbury  and  McGill  men 
combined  were  in  control  of  the  convention,  but  neither  faction 
was  strong  enough  to  instruct  for  its  particular  candidate.  To 
vote  both  resolutions  down  would  be  bad,  and  to  vote  either  one 
up  was  impossible.  In  this  dilemma  the  not  unusual  course  was 
adopted  of  having  a  row,  and  amid  yells  and  speeches  and  cat- 
calls the  chairman  recognized  a  motion  to  adjourn  and  declared 
it  carried  regardless  of  how  the  vote  stood. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  235 

The  Dispatch  was  in  something  of  a  transition  state  at  this 
time,  having  been  in  charge  of  Governor  Marshall  and  Gen.  C. 
€.  Andrews  until  a  short  time  previous.  Gen.  S.  P.  Jennison 
of  Red  Wing  was  temporarily  in  editorial  charge,  and  very 
warmly  advocated  Hubbard's  cause.  In  that  paper,  on  the 
evening  of  September  14th,  General  Jennison  made  this  com- 
ment, evidently  based  upon  the  riotous  adjournment  of  the 
county  convention  without  instructions: 

It  shows  that  the  end  of  the  impudent,  corrupt,  venal  domination  of 
the  Pioneer  Press  ring  of  slick,  smooth-tongued,  canting  hypocrites  is 
approaching.  It  took  all  the  power  of  the  corporations  and  the  help 
of  the  McGill  victims  to  save  a  lean  majority  in  the  county  where  the 
fourth  term  is  the  strongest.  The  candidate  of  the  Pioneer  Press,  if 
he  goes  into  the  convention  at  all,  will  thrive  under  its  blasting  support, 
as  did  Alexander  Ramsey  in  his  candidacy  for  the  senate. 

This  was  the  last  shot  fired  from  the  Jennison  locker.  Three 
days  later,  September  17th,  Capt.  H,  A.  Castle  published  an 
announcement  that,  after  14  months'  retirement,  he  had  again 
resumed  editorial  charge  of  the  paper.  The  succeeding  numbers 
of  the  Dispatch  verified  the  correctness  of  the  statement,  for 
every  issue  was  a  broadside  of  grape  and  cannister  fired  into  the 
Ramsey-Pillsbury-P.  P.  crowd.  Prior  to  Capt.  Castle's  taking 
charge  of  the  paper  the  Pioneer  Press  had.abused  him  very  liber- 
ally, owing  to  his  advocacy  of  Hubbard.  This  had  been  con- 
tinued day  after  day  without  any  sparing  of  adjectives.  Neces- 
sarily, Capt.  Castle  was  a  little  behind  in  the  contest  of  exple- 
tives, but  he  caught  up  with  the  procession  with  notable  prompt- 
ness, and  on  the  226.  of  September  had  gained  sufficient  bravery 
to  print  a  tribute  to  his  esteemed  contemporary,  almost  too 
personal  for  history. 

Mr.  Wheelock  had  previously  expressed  equally  compliment- 
ary views  of  Capt.  Castle.  It  was  still  six  days  before  the 
state  convention  when  this  was  printed.  Apparently  things 
were  hot  and  still  a-heating. 

Up  tQ  a  certain  point  the  effort  to  place  Hon.  John  S.  Pills- 
l)ury  in  the  governor's  chair  for  the  fourth  time  was  tried  under 
.as  favorable  circumstances  as  could  be  expected  to  exist.     He 


236  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

had  strong  political  friends  in  both  of  the  leading  cities  of  the 
state,  was  strong  in  the  country  and  had  given  what  was  recog- 
nized as  a  good  administration  for  the  state. 

But  on  Sept.  15,  1881,  just  two  weeks  before  the  Republican 
state  convention  was  to  be  held,  he  sent  the  following  letter  to 
the  Pioneer  Press: 

The  action  which  you  have  taken  in  placing  my  name  before  the 
people  for  further  gubernatorial  honors  was,  as  you  are  aware,  without 
my  knowledge  or  consent.  While  I  am  gratified  with  the  very  high 
compliment  paid  me  by  the  citizens  of  Ramsey  county  and  other  per- 
sons in  the  state,  as  well  as  by  the  friendly  sentiments  frequently  ex- 
pressed by  yourself,  I  am  constrained  to  adhere  to  my  former  deter- 
mination to  retire  from  political  life  at  the  close  of  this  term  of  office, 
and  this  card  is  to  inform  you  of  my  purpose. 

Yours  respectfully, 

J.  S.  PILLSBURY. 

This  letter  was  all  the  more  significant  of  Governor  Pills- 
bury's  sincerity  from  the  fact  that  Ramsey  county  had  already 
been  carried  against  Hubbard  and  practically  for  Pillsbury, 
although  there  were  some  McGill  men  on  the  delegation  to  the 
state  convention. 

He  was,  of  course,  assured  of  his  own  county  of  Hennepin 
if  he  was  a  candidate,  and  with  these  two  prominent  counties  in 
his  favor  would  have  been  a  formidable  competitor  in  the  con- 
vention. 

This  letter  was  a  sad  blow  to  the  faction  that  was  hoping  to 
defeat  General  Hubbard  by  the  use  of  Pillsbury's  name.  The 
Pioneer  Press  braced  up  as  well  as  could  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances  and  declared  that  the  people  were  so  uproarious 
for  Pillsbury  that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  retire.  This 
attempted  bold  front  was  not  a  success,  and  the  ordinary  polit- 
ical tactics  were  resorted  to,  that  is,  the  bringing  out  of  favored 
sons  from  the  various  portions  of  the  state.  Everyone,  of  course, 
understands  that  this  is  done  with  no  especial  love  for  the  can- 
didates trotted  out,  but  with  a  view  of  making  up  a  field  strong 
enough  to  prevent  the  leading  candidate  from  winning.  McGill 
was  already  in  the  field,  and  in  the  few  days  which  intervened 
prior  to  the  state  convention,  T.  B.  Clement  of  Faribault,  Rice 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  237 

county,  Clark  W.  Thompson  of  Wells,  Faribault  county,  and 
J.  C.  Stoever  of  Henderson,  Sibley  county,  were  presented  to  the 
public.  It  will  be  noticed  that  all  of  these  candidates  were  so 
situated  geographically  as  to  conflict  with  Hubbard;  but  the 
scheme  worked  sufhciently  to  have  them  all  come  up  to  the 
convention  with  their  own  county  delegates  and  some  scattering 
votes  besides.  The  Pioneer  Press  had  a  good  word  for  each  one 
of  these  candidates,  while  in  the  same  breath  it  was  insisting 
that  Pillsbury  was  the  only  man  who  ought  to  receive  the  nomi- 
nation. 

The  war  between  the  Dispatch  and  the  Pioneer  Press  was 
continual,  lively  and  bitter  every  day,  but  in  spite  of  this  the 
28th  of  September,  the  date  of  the  state  convention,  arrived  just 
as  if  no  trouble  existed.  It  was  Hubbard  against  the  field,  and 
the  confidence  that  was  felt  in  his  defeat  was  voiced  by  the  fol- 
lowing utterance  in  the  Pioneer  Press  on  the  morning  of  the 
convention : 

That  Hubbard  is  badly  beaten  there  is  no  doubt,  if  the  sentiment 
of  the  convention  should  not  be  utterly  perverted  by  the  trading  com- 
binations by  which  his  friends  were  endeavoring  last  night  to  recruit 
his  strength. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  was  a  little  anchor  thrown  to 
windward  for  defeat  in  the  statement  quoted,  and  that  was  relied 
upon  to  explain  how  it  happened  when  defeat  finally  came. 

There  were  no  contesting  delegations,  and  consequently  the 
temporary  chairman  was  not  a  bone  of  contention.  Gen.  James 
H.  Baker  of  Mankato  was  selected  for  the  honor  of  chairman, 
and  was  easily  chosen.  General  Baker  was  for  Clark  Thompson 
for  governor,  but  he  was  also  in  favor  of  General  Baker  for  rail- 
road commissioner,  and  consequently  was  in  a  frame  of  mind  to 
be  very  impartial  in  his  decisions. 

The  first  motion  of  any  significance  in  the  convention  was 
to  change  the  order  laid  down  in  the  call  and  nominate  the  judges 
for  the  supreme  bench  prior  to  selecting  the  rest  of  the  state 
ticket. 

The  object  of  this  motion  appears  later  in  the  story.  By  a 
vote  of  180  to  113  it  was  laid  upon  the  table,  and  that  vote  was 


238  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

a  test  which  demonstrated  that  General  Hubbard  was  strong 
enough  to  down  the  field.  There  was  not  a  great  amount  of 
time  nor  much  oratory  wasted  in  presenting  the  respective  can- 
didates for  governor.  C.  Amundson  of  St.  Peter  presented 
McGill's  name,  and  O.  B.  Gould  of  Winona  seconded  it.  Gen- 
eral Jennison  of  Red  Wing  nominated  Hubbard,  and  Col.  T.  J. 
Sheehan  of  Albert  Lea  and  J.  A.  Thatcher  of  Zumbrota,  Good- 
hue county,  s.econded  it.  In  spite  of  Pillsbury's  letter  already 
quoted,  Captain  Russell  Blakely  of  St.  Paul  nominated  him. 
J.  B.  Wakefield  of  Blue  Earth  City  named  Clark  W.  Thompson, 
and  General  Baker  seconded  the  nomination.  Gordon  E.  Cole 
of  Rice  county  named  T.  B.  Clement  and  Jacob  Franken- 
field  of  Henderson  closed  the  oratory  by  asking  the  convention 
to  select  J.  C.  Stoever.  Here  was  a  field  with  a  vengeance.  In 
spite  of  this  formidable  array  of  talent  it  only  took  two  ballots 
to  settle  the  contest,  and,  in  fact,  but  one  formal  ballot.  Here 
is  the  official  record : 

Informal  Ballot.     Formal  Ballot. 

Hubbard 140  160 

Pillsbury,  57  51 

McGill  41  47 

Thompson   30  20 

Clement    29  18 

Stoever  8 

Scattering  ...  16 

Total 30s  306 

Necessary  to  choice I53  ^54 

There  were  the  usual  huzzas  by  the  victors  and  the  gloomy 
faces  of  the  defeated,  but  the  world  at  large  moved  on  as  of 
yore. 

There  was  a  moderate  contest  for  the  attorney  generalship 
between  W.  J.  Hahn  of  Wabasha  and  Fayette  Marsh  of  Still- 
water, though  the  ballot,  which  was  186  for  Hahn  to  106  for 
Marsh,  did  not  indicate  the  closeness  which  was  anticipated. 

At  that  time  the  railroad  commissioners  were  elected  by  the 
people.  Ex-Governor  Marshall  had  been  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners for  two  terms,  and  was  a  candidate  for  the  third. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  239 

Gen.  James  H.  Baker  was  a  contestant  for  this  emolument, 
and  won  by  a  scratch,  receiving  155  votes,  as  against  144  for 
Marshall. 

The  redoubtable  Sam  Nichols  had  been  clerk  of  the  supreme 
court  for  two  terms,  and  was  a  candidate  for  a  third  term.  Sam 
came  from  Fergus  Falls,  Otter  Tail  county,  but  the  necessity  of 
his  business  requiring  him  to  live  in  St.  Paul,  he  was  counted 
in  his  old  home  as  a  non-resident.  As  the  most  certain  method 
of  defeating  him  his  enemies  presented  the  name  of  J.  C.  Hill 
of  Otter  Tail  county  as  chief  competitor,  making  it  something 
of  a  "home  run."  George  P.  Johnson  of  Madelia  was  a  candi- 
date on  the  side,  hoping  to  slide  in  between  the  chief  contestants. 
The  informal  ballot  resulted: 

Nichols  123,  Hill  124,  Johnson  28.  When  this  was  announced 
Sam  for  the  first  time  in  his  political  life  turned  pale.  The  first 
formal  ballot  resulted:  Nichols  143,  Hill  141.  After  this  was 
announced  it  was  discovered  that  two  votes  had  been  pasted 
together  and  the  tellers  had  thrown  them  both  out.  These  two 
votes,  if  counted,  would  make  the  candidates  a  tie,  and  so  another 
ballot  was  ordered.  Sam's  experience  in  calling  the  roll  as  clerk 
in  the  legislature  and  other  political  bodies  warned  him  that  it 
was  often  easier  to  win  in  a  convention  by  having  the  tellers  in 
one's  favor  rather  than  relying  on  the  whims  of  the  delegates. 
Hence,  while  the  third  ballot  was  in  progress,  he  was  giving  his 
attention  to  the  tellers.  Under  his  shrewd  manipulation  the 
third  ballot  was  interrupted  by  the  announcement  that  the  tellers 
had  discovered  that  one  of  the  ballots  pasted  together  was  for 
Nichols  and  the  other  for  Hill.  That  would  make  the  votes 
stand  144  to  142.  No  inquiry  was  made  to  ascertain  whether 
that  double  vote  was  cast  by  some  one  person  who  had  promised 
both  candidates,  and  Mr.  Hill's  friends  were  not  shrewd  enough 
to  ask  the  question  how  two  ballots  could  become  pasted  together 
when  they  had  been  dropepd  singly  into  a  hat  and  not  into  a 
mucilage  bottle.  Consequently  Sam's  work  with  the  tellers 
stood,  and  he  not  only  got  the  ofBce  for  the  third  time,  but  con- 
tinued right  along  until  he  had  held  it  for  five  successive  terms. 
Thanks  to  the  tellers,  Sam  beat  the  record  in  the  length  of  time, 
that  position  has  ever  been  held  by  anyone. 


240  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Charles  A.  Gilman  of  St.  Cloud  was  lieutenant  governor, 
Charles  Kittleson  of  Albert  Lea  treasurer,  and  Fred  Von  Baum- 
bach  of  Alexandria  secretary  of  state,  and  all  were  renominated 
for  their  respective  positions.  W.  W.  Braden  of  Preston  was 
the  first  new  man  placed  upon  the  ticket  aside  from  Hubbard, 
and  he  was  nominated  for  state  auditor.  D.  A.  Dickinson  of 
Mankato  and  WilHam  Mitchell  of  Winona  were  already  asso- 
ciate; justices  of  the  supreme  court,  and  they  were  nominated  by 
Gilman.  The  third  associate  justice  was  Greenleaf  Clark  of  St. 
Paul,  who  had  been  appointed  the  previous  March,  when  the 
supreme  court  had  been  enlarged  from  three  to  five  members. 
And  here  came  a  fight  resulting  in  C.  E.  Vanderburgh  of  Min- 
neapolis being  nominated  by  218  to  97  for  Clark.  That  com- 
pleted the  ticket.  The  Democrats  undertook  to  make  a  little 
diversion  when  their  convention  met  October  6th  by  endorsing 
Mitchell,  Dickinson  and  Clark.  On  October  13th  Judge  Clark 
printed  a  letter  declining  the  honor  on  the  ground  that. he  had 
allowed  his  name  to  be  used  in  the  Republican  convention  and 
ought  not  to  figure  in  both.  The  Democrats  kept  him  on  their 
ticket  notwithstanding. 

The  disappointment,  owing  to  the  defeat  of  Pillsbury,  was  so 
great  that  it  was  necessary  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  someone, 
and  Judge  Vanderburgh  and  Hennepin  county  were  the  vic- 
tims. The  Pioneer  Press  editorial  on  September  29th  was 
headed,  *'A  Judgeship  Bought."  This  was  the  opening  sen- 
tence : 

No  such  shameful  spectacle  was  ever  witnessed  in  a  Republican 
state  convention  in  this  state  as  that  which  was  exhibited  at  the 
Atheneum  in  St.  Paul  yesterday,  when  a  seat  on  the  supreme  court 
bench  of  Minnesota  was  openly  put  up  for  sale. 

The  editorial  proceeded  to  denounce  the  Minneapolis  dele- 
gation as  "unprincipled  trading  politicians,''  claiming  that  they 
had  voted  for  Hubbard  in  return  for  the  nomination  of  Vander- 
burgh, and  that  was  why  the  anti-Hubbard  men  endeavored  to 
nominate  the  judges  prior  to  the  nominations  for  governor. 

The  following  gentlemen  composed  the  Minneapolis  delega- 
tion in  that  convention:  R.  B.  Langdon,  C.  H.  Pettit,  A.  C. 
Haugan,  J.  B.  Gilfillan,  R.  C.  Benton,  C.  W.  Johnson,  F.  Hooker, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  241 

George  A.  Camp,  F.  P.  Lane,  H.  G.  Hicks,  W.  E.  Hale,  J. 
Barge,  A.  Jugenson,  D.  A.  Lydeau,  H.  L.  Gordon,  G.  F.  John- 
son, J.  C.  Whitney,  W.  M.  Burrows,  W.  Hayden,  Lee  Hahn,  E. 
Nash.  These  names  comprise  some  of  the  best  known  citizens 
and  most  prominent  members  of  the  RepubUcan  party  in  Min- 
neapoHs,  but  still  they  were  the  men  who  were  being  denounced 
by  the  Pioneer  Press. 

I  was  publishing  the  Globe  at  that  time,  and  in  the  interests 
of  harmony  advised  the  Pillsbury  men  to  bolt,  in  the  following 
paragraph : 

If  the  Pillsbury  men  have  a  particle  of  spunk  they  will  bolt.  They 
have  been  spit  upon,  kicked,  had  their  eyes  blackened,  their  noses 
punched,  their  ears  wrung,  and  a  knife  plunged  under  their  fifth  rib 
and  turned  around  in  their  intestines.  Are  they  men  to  suffer  such 
dishonor  and  not  resent  it?  Dare  they  bolt,  or  will  they  consider  the 
saliva  which  was  yesterday  planted  between  their  eyes  and  is  now 
streaming  down  their  cheeks  as  a  new  patent  face  cosmetic  designed 
for  beautifying  the  complexion? 

In  spite  of  the  advice  I  gave  them  they  did  not  bolt.  The 
Democrats,  as  a  matter  of  form,  nominated  Gen.  R.  W.  John- 
son of  St.  Paul  for  governor.  Brief  as  was  the  campaign,  it 
was  long  enough  to  have  the  vote  in  November  stand :  Hub- 
bard 65,025,  Johnson  37,168,  and  another  one  of  the  frequent 
and  memorable  Republican  fights  in  Minnesota  passed  into  his- 
tory.    Let  it  be  recorded. 


16 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-SIX. 


W.    D.   Washburn's   Defeat  for  the   Senate  by   Gov.   Knute 

Nelson. 


"As  ye  sow  so  shall  ye  reap."  I  do  not  know  that  a  senti- 
ment of  this  kind  has  anything  to  do  with  politics,  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  when  Senator  Washburn  relegated  Senator  Sabin  to 
private  life  after  one  term,  he  laid  the  ground  work  for  having 
Governor  Nelson  serve  him  in  the  same  manner  when  the  proper 
time  came.  When  Washburn  defeated  Sabin  in  the  winter  of 
1888  he  estabUshed  a  one-term  precedent  which  Governor  Nel- 
son and  his  friends  were  not  slow  to  profit  by.  The  consequence 
was  that  in  the  winter  of  1895,  when  Washburn's  term  was  about 
to  expire,  he  received  a  hypodermic  injection  in  the  neck,  of  his 
own  medicine,  and  it  proved  fatal.  Senator  Nelson  was  then 
governor,  and  in  the  fall  election  preceding  the  senatorial  elec- 
tion was  a  candidate  for  re-election,  succeeding,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  as  nothing  but  success  has  marked  Senator  Nelson's 
career  from  the  initiative. 

There  were  rumors  all  through  the  gubernatorial  campaign 
that  he  would  blossom  out  as  a  candidate  for  a  senator  in  Janu- 
ary, and  he  did.  Washburn  and  his  friends  laid  great  stress 
upon  the  speech  Governor  Nelson  made  at  Albert  Lea  on  the 
same  platform  with  Senator  Washburn,  in  which  he  was  reported 
as  saying  this : 

It  has  been  reported  that  I  am  a  candidate  for  United  States 
senator,  but  this  is  not  so.  I  am  not  a  candidate  and  do  not  expect  to 
be.  I  am  a  candidate  for  governor  and  want  to  be  elected  governor, 
,and  if  elected,  expect  to  serve  out  my  term  as  governor.  But  elect 
your  Republican  legislative  ticket,  so  as  to  send  my  friend  Washburn 

(242) 


/'xWi-<:.^Zer7za<^ 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  243 

back  to  the  United  States  senate,  or  if  you  do  not  like  him,  send  some 
other  good  Republican. 

I  do  not  say  personally  that  Governor  Nelson  was  correctly 
quoted,  but  the  words  which  I  have  given  above  were  alleged  to 
have  been  uttered  by  him,  and  a  committee  of  Washburn's 
friends  signed  a  statement  to  that  effect  and  printed  it  in  the 
newspapers.  I  accordingly  record  it  on  that  authority  and  not 
my  own. 

When  he  really  became  a  candidate  it  was  urged  that  his 
Albert  Lea  speech  was  entirely  consistent  with  his  candidacy  for 
the  senate,  the  argument  being  made  that  senators  are  not 
elected  by  the  people,  and  consequently  he  was  not  in  the 
direct  sense  a  candidate  for  the  senate  at  that  time,  and  also 
the  very  county  where  he  was  making  the  speech  subsequently 
elected  representatives  to  the  legislature  in  favor  of  Nelson,  and, 
of  course,  in  opposition  to  Washburn. 

Along  about  the  time  the  legislature  was  meeting  petitions 
sprang  up  from  all  over  the  state  to  Governor  Nelson,  askings 
him  to  be  a  candidate.  A  public  meeting  was  held  at  Frazee 
City  on  Jan,  lo,  1895,  devoted  to  bringing  Nelson  out  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  senate.  He  would  certainly  have  been  less  than 
human  if  he  had  refused  the  prize,  which  was  seemingly  offered 
him  on  a  silver  platter;  and  still  it  was  almost  up  to  the  last 
moment  before  Washburn  and  his  friends  could  really  believe 
that  they  were  to  have  Governor  Nelson  for  a  competitor.  Sen- 
ator Washburn  was  credited  with  having  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railroad  at  his  back,  which  was  really  no  particular  advantage 
to  him,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  no  evidence  near  or 
remote  that  they  expended  a  dollar  to  aid  Mr.  Washburn  in  his 
campaign.  It  is  perhaps  no  discredit  to  Mr.  Washburn  to  say 
that  he  possesses  aristocratic  tendencies,  and  consequently  was 
not  as  popular  personally  as  the  bluff  farmer.  Governor  Nelson. 
I  do  not  consider  it  any  discredit  to  a  man  to  be  aristocratic  if 
he  has  the  money  and  brains  upon  which  to  rest  his  cause,  but 
if  you  are  in  politics  it  is  not  advisable  to  let  anybody  know 
it,  and  Washburn  did  not  make  any  special  concealment  of  this 
fact,  though  he  was  courteous  and  polite  to  his  humblest  con- 


244  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

stituent,  especially  if  that  constituent  was  in  any  danger  of  getting 
into  the  legislature. 

As  the  time  approached  for  a  caucus  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
discussion  about  having  an  open  caucus  with  a  viva  voce  vote, 
and  practically  this  is  what  was  done.  The  caucus  was  open  to 
the  reporters,  and  the  roll  was  called  for  each  man  to  give  his 
choice  publicly.  The  galleries  were  thrown  open  to  the  news- 
paper men  from  the  country;  and,  as  the  State  Editorial  Asso- 
ciation was  just  then  convening  in  St.  Paul,  the  country  news- 
paper men  filled  the  galleries  to  overflowing.  The  caucus  met 
at  8  p.  m.  January  i8th.  There  was  no  contest  for  chairman, 
John  L.  Gibbs  of  Albert  Lea  being  selected  to  preside.  Gilbert 
Gutterson  of  Blue  Earth  county  was  chosen  secretary,  and  Chris 
Ellingson  of  Hennepin  county  assistant  secretary.  Governor 
Nelson  had  scored  by  having  two  of  his  countrymen  in  a  posi- 
tion to  count  the  votes,  which,  at  times,  determines  the  result. 
The  roll  call  showed  141  present  at  the  caucus  out  of  a  possible 
142,  and  the  first  question  which  agitated  the  body  v/as  to  deter- 
mine whether  'J2,  a  majority  of  all  the  Republicans  in  the  legis- 
lature, should  nominate,  or  whether  71,  a  majority  of  all  those 
present,  should  be  allowed  to  nominate.  It  was  finally  decided 
that  the  successful  man  must  have  "^2  votes.  Senator  Wyman 
of  Minneapolis  nominated  Mr.  Washburn,  and  Senator  E.  T. 
Young  of  Appleton,  Swift  county,  nominated  Mr.  Nelson.  Mr. 
Douglas  of  Moorhead  nominated  S.  G.  Comstock  of  that  city, 
and  Mr.  Lockwood  nominated  Congressman  McCleary.  Those 
were  all  the  entries  in  the  race.  Six  ballots  were  taken  that 
night,  without  nominating  anybody,  but  they  settled  the  ques- 
tion that  Senator  Washburn  was  defeated.  The  ballots  were  as 
follows : 

I  St.         2nd.        3rd.         4th.         5th.        6th. 

Washburn  61  59  60  60  57  55 

Nelson 45  55  57  58  58  60 

Comstock   14  10  9  10  ^4  I4 

McCleary  11  n  10  11  98 

Scattering    7  6  5  2  3  3' 

It  is  notable  that  Washburn  polled  his  entire  strength  the 
first  ballot ;  then  he  lost  two,  regained  his  loss,  then  lost  three, 
and  closed  up  the  last  ballot  with  six  votes  less  than  he  began 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  245 

with.  Nelson,  on  the  other  hand,  gained  lo  on  the  second  bal- 
lot, two  more  on  the  third,  and  still  one  more  on  the  fourth,  and 
closed  on  the  sixth  ballot  with  15  more  than  he  began  with.  The 
handwriting  was  on  the  wall  large  enough  for  a  bill-board.  The 
Nelson  men  were  anxious  to  continue  the  caucus,  but  Wash- 
burn's friends  were  strong  enough  to  secure  an  adjournment 
after  the  sixth  ballot.  They  had  something  to  think  about.  The 
caucus  did  not  adjourn  to  any  fixed  time,  and  for  the  next  two 
or  three  days  almost  the  entire  talk  of  the  city  was,  will  there 
be  another  caucus?  The  Nelson  men  were  anxious  for  another 
caucus,  but  the  Washburn  men  were  not,  and  Nelson  and  his 
friends  did  not  press  the  caucus  matter,  but  went  into  the  open 
legislature  to  finish  the  contest.  When  the  first  vote  was  taken 
in  the  legislature  Nelson  had  27  in  the  senate  and  75  in  the 
house — a  total  of  102,  98  of  whom  were  Republicans.  Four 
Democrats  had  also  voted  for  Nelson,  notably  among  them  being 
Hon.  P.  H.  Kelly  of  St.  Paul.  Washburn  had  16  in  the  senate 
and  20  in  the  house,  a  total  of  36 ;  Comstock  3  in  the  senate  and 
6  in  the  house,  a  total  of  9 ;  McCleary  had  2  in  the  house  and 
none  in  the  senate;  Lind  had  i  in  the  senate  and  none  in  the 
house ;  Donnelly  had  5  in  the  senate  and  8  in  the  house,  a  total 
of  13.  Judge  William  Mitchell  received  2  in  the  senate  and  2 
in  the  house,  a  total  of  4.     There  was  i  absentee. 

There  was  the  usual  joy  and  jubilation  of  the  victors,  though 
it  was  not  as  pronounced  as  it  sometimes  is,  because  the  result 
was  not  reached  in  a  caucus,  and  there  is  a  trifle  more  restraint 
in  the  open  legislature  than  there  is  in  the  caucus.  Still,  every- 
body seemed  to  be  happy  except  the  Minneapolis  newspapers. 
They  raved  violently  for  a  day  or  two ;  but  as  it  is  useless  to  tear 
your  hair  after  the  other  fellow  has  taken  your  scalp,  their  agony 
was  not  long  prolonged,  and  the  state  settled  down  to  the  view 
that  Governor  Nelson  was  thoroughly  competent  to  take  care 
of  our  public  interests  at  Washington — a  statement  which  his 
career  there  has  more  than  verified,  as  he  has  now  become  one 
of  the  leading  senators  of  the  country. 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-SEVEN. 


The  Issue  of  Five  Million  Railroad  Bonds  and  Their  Final 

Payment. 


Like  all  new  commonwealths,  Minnesota  early  realized  that 
railroads  were  a  positive  necessity,  and  that  no  material 
development  could  be  hoped  for  without  them.  When  Min- 
nesota was  admitted  the  country  was  in  a  state  of  financial 
depression.  The  panic  of  1857  and  the  general  distress  which 
followed  had  left  everything  prostrate.  While  there  were  about 
150,000  people  in  Minnesota  they  were  widely  scattered,  pro- 
duction was  comparatively  small,  and  there  was  little  inducement 
for  capitalists  to  build  railroads  where  population  was  so  small 
and  traffic  sure  to  be  light  for  many  years  to  come.  Land  grants 
had  been  bestowed  upon  the  state  by  Congress  for  railroad  pur- 
poses, and  the  state  had  in  turn  enacted  laws  granting  them  to 
private  corporations.  But  this  was  not  enough  to  induce  capital 
to  come  to  the  rescue.  The  consequence  was  that  on  the  8th 
day  of  March,  1858,  the  legislature  passed  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  authorizing  the  issue  of  $5,000,000  of  bonds  of  the 
state,  to  be  granted  under  restrictions  specified,  to  railroad  com- 
panies as  rapidly  as  they  constructed  ten  miles  of  road  ready  for 
the  superstructure.  This  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  a 
special  election  on  April  15,  1858,  and  was  carried  by  a  vote  of 
27,023  yes  to  733  no.  The  unanimity  of  this  vote  shows  the 
great  desire  of  the  people  then  in  Minnesota  to  secure  this 
improvement.  But,  as  usual  with  such  things,  politics  cropped 
up.  The  railroad  companies  went  ahead  and  graded  and  pre- 
pared for  the  superstructure  250  miles.  Governor  Sibley  was 
governor  of   the    state,  and   he   placed   even   more   restrictions 

(246) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  247 

about  the  issuance  of  the  bonds  than  the  law  required,  but  finally 
did  issue  2,275  bonds  of  the  denomination  of  $1,000  each.  The 
railroads  were  to  pay  the  interest  on  these  bonds,  but,  as  usual 
in  such  enterprises,  they  defaulted.  The  bonds  were  to  run  25 
years,  and  the  interest,  seven  per  cent,  was  to  be  paid  semi-annu- 
ally in  New  York.  With  the  default  of  the  companies  in  paying 
the  interest  a  great  furor  arose  and  the  outcry  was  made  that 
the  state  had  been  swindled.  The  bonds  had  really  been  issued 
under  Democratic  auspices,  but  the  Republican  politicians  saw 
an  opportunity  of  making  capital  against  the  Democrats  by  a  hue 
and  cry  against  the  bonds.  The  result  was  that  in  i860  a 
Republican  legislature  enacted  the  following: 

No  law  leving  a  tax  or  making  other  provision  for  the  payment 
of  interest  or  principal  of  the  bonds  denominated  Minnesota  State  Rail- 
road Bonds  shall  take  effect  or  be  in  force  until  such  law  shall  have 
been  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  of  the  state  and  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  the  electors  of  the  state  voting  upon  the  same. 

To  make  sure  that  the  state  would  not  pay  the  bonds,  the 
legislature  also  proposed  another  amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
which  read  as  follows: 


The  credit  of  this  state  shall  never  be  given  or  loaned  in  aid  of 
any  individual,  association  or  corporation,  nor  shall  there  be  any 
further  issue  of  bonds  denominated  Minnesota  State  Railroad  Bonds 
under  what  purports  to  be  an  amendment  to  section  10  of  Article  IX, 
of  the  Constitution,  adopted  April  15,  1858,  which  is  hereby  expunged 
from  the  Constitution,  saving  and  excepting  and  reserving  to  the  state, 
nevertheless,  all  rights,  remedies  and  forfeiture  accruing  under  said 
amendment. 

This  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted 
November  6,  i860,  almost  with  as  great  unanimity  as  the  original 
amendment  authorizing  the  loan  was  adopted  -in  1858.  The 
default  of  the  railroads  in  meeting  the  interest  on  these  bonds 
was  largely  due  to  our  own  people.  The  political  controversy 
led  to  violent  agitation,  public  meetings  were  held  denouncing 
the  bonds,  and  the  Republican  newspapers  were  insistent  that 
they  would  never  be  paid.     The  railroad  corporations  which  had 


248  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

received  them  naturally  supposed  when  they  took  them  that  they 
would  be  a  good  collateral  upon  which  to  borrow. money;  and 
the  general  impression  would  be,  laying  politics  aside,  that  when 
a  great  state  gave  its  note  it  was  pretty  good  collateral  security. 
Marked  copies  of  St.  Paul  and  other  papers  berating  the  bonds 
and  declaring  they  never  would  be  paid  were  sent  to  financial 
men  in  New  York,  and  tied  the  hands  of  the  railroad  contractors 
very  tightly.  So  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  default  in  pay- 
ment of  interest  occurred.  The  railroad  contractors  had  paid 
out  all  the  money  they  could  raise  for  labor,  ties,  right-of-way, 
etc.,  and  were  absolutely  at  a  standstill.  The  result  was  that 
Minnesota  had  about  250  miles  of  graded  road,  without  a  single 
mile  of  rails  laid.  Then  on  top  of  this,  when  the  expunging 
amendment  was  adopted,  the  railroad  bonds  were  for  a  time  abso- 
lutely worthless,  so  far  as  use  in  the  business  world  was  con- 
cerned. The  constitutional  amendment  authorizing  the  bonds 
had  of  course  been  adopted  irrespective  of  party  lines,  as  shown 
by  the  small  negative  vote ,  but  the  great  efifort  of  the  Republican 
party  was  to  demonstrate  that  the  Democratic  party  was 
responsible  for  the  issue  of  the  bonds,  and  that  they — the  Repub- 
lican party — as  a  friend  of  the  people  would  stand  by  the  public 
and  see  that  they  were  never  paid ;  in  other  words,  the  politicians 
were  ready  to  sanction  and  did  sanction  rank  repudiation  for  the 
purpose  of  making  political  capital.  In  the  early  history  of  the 
state  this  controversy  was  one  of  the  leading  factors.  Over  and 
over  again  propositions  were  made  for  a  compromise,  but  as 
promptly  rejected.  And  still  the  matter  of  repudiation  would 
not  down. 

An  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature  March  6,  1871,  provid- 
ing for  a  commission  to  determine  whether  the  bonds  were  a 
legal  liability  or  not.  This  commission  was  also  authorized  to 
provide  for  a  new  issuance  of  30-year  bonds  to  take  those 
already  issued  up  if  they  were  found  to  be  a  legal  liability.  This 
was  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  a  special  election  in 
May,  1 87 1,  and  of  course  voted  down  as  usual.  By  this  time 
the  bondholders  became  convinced  that  the  people  of  Minnesota 
would  never,  by  their  votes,  declare  in  favor  of  paying  the  bonds. 
Still  the  stake  of  $2,275,000  was  too  great  not  to  be  worked  for. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  249 

The  next  movement  was  to  both  create  a  popular  and  a  legal 
sentiment  that  the  bonds  could  be  paid  without  a  vote  of  the 
people,  in  spite  of  the  legislation  and  expunging  amendment. 
Great  attorneys,  like  W.  M.  Evarts  of  New  York,  were  employed, 
who  gave  elaborate  and  carefully  prepared  opinions,  setting  forth 
that  the  expunging  act  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  was  in  violation 
of  the  United  States  Constitution  which  forbids  states  from 
impairing  contracts.  There  were  public  meetings,  discussions 
in  the  newspapers,  in  the  legislatures,  in  the  pulpits,  and  all  over 
the  state  on  the  subject,  and  the  business  public  was  thoroughly 
aroused  to  the  desire  of  relieving  the  state  from  the  stigma  of 
repudiation.  Still,  the  population  had  by  this  time  largely 
increased  and  new  men  had  come  to  the  state,  many  of  them 
from  foreign  lands,  and  the  question  of  repudiation  was  not  as 
near  and  dear  to  their  hearts  as  the  question  of  increasing  their 
taxes.  So  the  more  time  that  elapsed  the  more  hopeless  became 
the  situation. 

Governor  after  governor  in  his  annual  message  urged  that 
something  be  done  to  adjust  these  bonds.  Scarcely  anyone  had 
the  temerity  to  propose  to  pay  them  in  full,  but  the  air  was  full 
of  compromise  talk,  as  that  was  about  as  far  as  it  was  worth 
while  for  anyone  to  attempt  to  go.  Feeling  in  the  matter  ran 
high,  and  the  political  controversies  which  have  been  noted  in 
this  book  were  no  more  severe  than  was  the  controversy  as  to 
whether  the  state  should  care  for  its  obligations.  At  this  stage 
of  the  world  it  is  possible  that  Minnesota  would  not  deliberately 
vote  to  repudiate;  but  things  were  different  in  the  earlier  days. 
Everything  was  crude,  and  the  people  were  crude  as  well. 

In  1877  a  proposition  setting  aside  the  proceeds  from  the  sale 
of  the  500,000  acres  of  internal  improvement  lands  granted  the 
state  by  Congress  to  pay  the  bonds  was  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple, but  on  the  12th  of  June  this  was  voted  down,  59,176  no,  to 

17^324  yes. 

The  agitation  was  like  Banquo's  ghost,  "it  would  not  down." 
The  regular  session  of  the  legislature  in  1881  passed  an  act 
proposing  a  tribunal  to  be  miade  up  of  the  governor,  state  auditor 
and  attorney  general,  to  investigate  and  escertain  what  was  abso- 
lutely due  on  the  bonds,  providing  for  settlement  at  50  cents  on 


250  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

the  dollar  to  those  who  were  willing  to  accept  that  amount  for 
principal  and  interest.  This  tribunal  went  to  work,  and  Gover- 
nor Pillsbury,  who  was  an  ardent  advocate  for  the  honor  of  the 
state,  called  a  special  session  of  the  legislature,  which  met  Octo- 
ber II,  1 88 1,  and  adjourned  November  13th.  The  first  act  passed 
at  this  special  session  was  an  act  creating  an  internal  improve- 
ment land  fund,  to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  Minnesota 
Railroad  Adjustment  Bonds,  the  question  to  be  submitted  to  a 
vote  of  the  people  unless  upon  argument  before  the  supreme 
'Court,  the  supreme  court  should  decide  it  did  not  have  to  go 
before  the  people.  This  act  was  finally  approved  and  acted 
upon,  and  provided  for  the  payment  of  the  50  cents  proposed  in 
the  act  at  the  regular  session  of  1881.  500,000  acres  of  Internal 
Improvement  lands  granted  to  the  state  by  Congress  at  an  early 
period  were  religiously  set  aside  to  meet  the  indebtedness  thus 
incurred.  The  question  of  using  these  lands  for  this  purpose 
was  submitted  to  the  people  in  1881  and  received  82,438  yes  to 
24,526  no. 

The  road  was  thus  made  smooth  for  settling  the  whole  mat- 
ter. While  the  500,000  acres  of  land  were  set  apart  to  meet  the 
bonds,  it  was  found  that  the  new  indebtedness  created  by  the 
state,  principal  and  interest,  amounted  to  $4,301,000,  though  the 
original  face  of  the  bonds  issued  was  $2,275,000,  but  they  drew 
seven  per  cent  and  had  been  issued  over  20  years.  The  sum  of 
$4,301,000  was  50  per  cent  of  the  original  issue  of  bonds  with  the 
interest  added. 

It  was  arranged  that  new  bonds  should  be  issued  to  take  up 
the  old  ones.  They  were  to  be  dated  July  i,  1881,  payable  after 
ten  years,  and  not  more  than  30  years  at  the  option  of  the  state. 
They  were  to  draw  4^  per  cent  interest.  In  1891,  ten  years 
after  the  issue,  the  state  exercised  its  option  of  taking  them  up, 
and  made  a  new  issue  of  bonds  for  that  purpose,  the  governor, 
auditor  and  treasurer  being  the  funding  commission. 

At  this  date  $1,974,000  of  those  bonds  are  still  outstanding, 
and  the  state  auditor  estimates  that  the  gradual  redemption  of 
them  through  the  funding  process  of  the  Internal  Improvement 
fund  will  be  completed  by  19 10,  leaving  the  state  without  a  dol- 
lar of  bonded  indebtedness.     That  is  all  the  bonded  indebtedness 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  251 

the  state  now  has,  and  it  is  prohibited  by  the  Constitution  from 
creating  any  more. 

All  through  the  legislation  on  this  subject  the  state  was 
specially  guarded  in  declining  to  admit  that  it  had  repudiated 
any  obligation.  The  act  under  which  the  settlement  was  made 
was  entitled,  "An  act  for  the  adjustment  of  certain  alleged 
claims,"  and  the  term  "controverted  claims"  was  used  in  the  act 
itself.  All  through  the  law  it  was  stated  that  the  state  disputed 
the  validity  of  the  indebtedness  and  did  not  then  admit  it.  I 
suppose  as  they  were  willing  to  pay  50  cents  on  the  dollar,  they 
did  not  like  to  place  themselves  under  suspicion  of  compromis- 
ing something  that  they  owed  at  par. 

The  bondholders  were  very  willing  to  accept  this  settlement, 
and  as  their  original  bonds  drew  what  now  seems  an  enormous 
rate  of  interest — seven  per  cent — it  is  probably  fair  to  say  that 
they  received  all  they  were  entitled  to,  as  the  state  really  paid 
almost  double  the  amount  of  the  original  issue  of  its  bonds. 

At  all  events,  the  stain  of  repudiation  was  wiped  from  the 
•escutcheon  of  the  state,  and  ever  since  then  the  business  pubHc 
has  breathed  easier.  It  certainly  was  a  stigma  upon  Minnesota 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  the  men  who  were  manly 
enough  to  stand  up  and  continue  the  agitation  year  after  year  in 
the  face  of  what  seemed  a  hopeless  contest  are  entitled  to  the 
utmost  credit. 


OBSERVATION   THIRTY-EIGHT. 


The  Great  State  Treasury  Defalcation  in  1872-3. 


An  interesting  event  in  Minnesota  politics,  and  one  which 
would  have  dethroned  any  political  party  which  was  not  so  thor- 
oughly entrenched  in  the  confidence  of  the  people  as  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  in  those  days,  was  the  great  state  treasury 
defalcation,  which  was  developed  in  the  winter  of  1873. 

Emil  Munch  had  held  the  office  of  state  treasurer  for  two 
terms,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  father-in-law,  William  Seeger. 
During  Mr.  Munch's  term,  as  subsequent  events  and  investiga- 
tions disclosed,  he  had  engaged  largely  in  the  purchase  of  timber- 
lands  and  saw-mill  operations,  and  doubtless  had  the  usual 
expectation  that  his  profits  would  enable  him  to  restore  any 
enforced  loan  he  made  from  the  treasury.  As  usual,  there  is 
generally  a  limit  to  such  affairs,  and  this  was  no  exception  to 
the  rule. 

In  January,  1873,  someone  came  to  me  with  the  intimation 
that  it  would  be  well  to  have  the  state  treasury  overhauled.  I 
do  not  now  recall  who  the  party  was,  but  he  was  in  a  position  to 
have  his  suggestion  receive  attention.  Consequently,  on  the  31st 
of  January,  1873,  I  wrote  and  published  conspicuously  in  the 
Dispatch  the  following  editorial,  headed, 

"WHERE  IS  THE  MONEY?"  Governor  Austin's  message  gives 
this  very  satisfactory  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  state  treasury 
on  the  1st  of  last  September: 

"The  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  30th  of  November,  1871,  was 
$196,180.37;  the  receipts  during  the  last  fiscal  year  were  $783,481.28, 
making  the  total  amount  of  available  funds  in  the  treasury  during  the 
year  $919,661.65.  The  disbursements  within  the  same  time  were  $736,- 
361.59,  leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year 
of  $243,300." 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  253 

The  people,  not  expecting  so  large  a  surplus  as  $243,300  in  the 
treasury,  voted  last  fall  to  issue  a  quarter  of  a  million  bonds  to  enlarge 
our  public  institutions.  There  is  now  great  haste  manifested  to  secure 
this  $250,000  and  place  it  in  the  treasury  with  the  $243,000  that  the 
governor  reports.  Of  course  in  the  construction  of  buildings,  the 
money  will  only  be  paid  out  as  the  work  progresses,  and  the  balance  of 
the  quarter  of  a  million  building  fund  must  remain  for  a  long  time  in  the 
treasury.  It  would  be  a  good  idea  for  the  legislature  to  investigate 
and  ascertain  whether  the  balance  reported  by  the  governor  is  in  the 
vault  at  the  capitol,  or  whether  it  is  loaned  to  banks  and  individuals,  and 
if  loaned  ascertain  the  rate  of  interest  the  state  is  receiving  on  it;  or 
if,  as  astonishing  as  is  the  supposition,  the  state  is  not  receiving  the 
interest  it  might  be  well  to  inquire  who  is.  There  are  some  laws  on  the 
statute  books  that  would  aid  a  committee  in  prosecuting  this  inquiry; 
and  as  the  legislature  is  the  guardian  of  the  people  it  would  not  be 
out  of  place  to  look  into  the  way  in  which  this  business  is  being  done. 
The  salary  of  the  state  treasurer  is  but  one  thousand  dollars  per  year, 
but  for  some  unaccountable  reason  it  is  regarded  as  the  best  of^ce  in 
the  state.  Is  it  possible  that  this  interest  question  has  anything  to  do 
with  the  matter? 

On  the  face  of  it  this  was  a  very  innocent  editorial,  and  seems 
to  have  been  eminently  fair;  but  the  consternation  it  created 
probably  never  will  be  known,  as  most  of  the  individuals  who 
were  especially  hit  by  the  article  have  long  since  passed  from 
earth.  Nevertheless,  temperate  as  the  article  was,  it  bore  very 
extensive  fruit.  It  appeared  on  Friday  afternoon,  and  Saturday 
morning  Senator  W.  G.  Ward  of  Waseca  county  offered  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  in  the  senate : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  investigate 
and  ascertain  whether  the  surplus  funds  reported  in  the  governor's 
message  are  in  the  vaults  of  the  state  treasury  at  the  capitol,  or  loaned 
to  banks  and  individuals,  and  if  so  loaned,  at  what  rate  of  interest,  and 
whether  said  interest  is  paid  into  the  state  treasury,  and  if  not  into  the 
state  treasury  to  whom  paid,  and  what  disposition  has  been  made  of  the 
funds  during  the  last  fiscal  year,  and  report  the  result  of  such  investi- 
gation to  the  senate  at  an  early  day. 

Of  course  no  one  could  object  to  such  a  resolution,  and  the 
common  notice  of  debate  was  not  even  given,  Dut  it  was  imme- 
diately passed,  and  Senators  Ward,  R.  B.  Langdon  of  Minne- 
apolis, and  L.  F.  Hubbard  of  Red  Wing  were  duly  appointed 
as  the  investigating  committee. 


254  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

When  the  investigation  began,  Mr.  Seeger  was  inclined  to  be 
very  obstreperous,  and  dedined  to  give  much  information;  but 
as  it  proceeded  it  began  to  develop  that  the  money  was  not  in 
the  vault  of  the  state  treasury  to  the  extent  of  about  $180,000. 

It  was  nearly  a  month  after  the  investigation  began  when  the 
house  passed  a  resolution  asking  Seeger  to  resign,  and  on  the 
4th  of  March  Mr.  Charles  Clarke  of  Minneapolis  offered  the 
following  preamble  and  resolution  in  the  house: 

Whereas,  On  Thursday  last,  the  27th  ult.,  the  House  did,  by  an 
emphatic  majority,  pass  resolutions  censuring  and  condemning  the 
conduct  and  management  of  the  state  treasury;  and, 

Whereas,  The  House  has  delayed  further  information  in  the  prem- 
ises in  order  that  the  treasurer  of  the  state  might  recognize  in  the 
sentiment  of  said  resolution  an  imperative  demand  upon  him  for  the 
tender  of  his  resignation  of  public  trusts,  and  that  in  the  opinion  of  the 
House  a  sufficient  and  reasonable  time  has  expired  without  any  com- 
munication having  been  received  of  any  intention  on  his  part  so  to  do, 
be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  That  William  Seeger,  the  present  state  treasurer,  be  and 
he  hereby  is  requested  to  answer  the  imperative  demands  of  the  people 
in  an  immediate  tender  to  the  governor  of  the  state  of  his  resignation 
of  the  trusts  placed  in  his  hands. 

Resolved,  That  the  chief  clerk  of  the  House  serve  a  copy  of  the 
foregoing  resolution  upon  said  William  Seeger  forthwith. 

After  some  debate  the  resolutions  were  adopted. 
The  next  day  this  brought  the  following  response  from  Mr.. 
Seeger : 

I  am  in  receipt  of  the  resolution  passed  by  your  honorable  body 
on  March  4th,  1873.  I  must  decline  to  comply  with  the  demand  em- 
bodied in  the  resolution,  I  most  respectfully  decline  to  stigmatize  my 
administration  of  the  treasury  by  resigning  my  office  under  the  circum- 
stances which  have  transpired.  It  is  not  pretended  that  I  have  ever 
perverted  one  cent  of  the  moneys  of  the  state  to  my  own  use.  Every 
dollar  which  has  ever  come  into  my  hands  has  been  faithfuly  accounted 
for.  I  found  when  I  came  into  office  the  state  treasury  depleted  by  a 
large  deficit,  and  that  deficit  has  been  made  good  during  the  first  year 
of  my  term.  My  successor  will  receive  it  all.  If  this  were  simply  a 
question  of  giving  up  the  office,  I  would  not  hesitate  one  moment; 
but  my  reputation  as  a  public  man  has  been  impugned  and  I  have  had 
no  opportunity  to  be  heard. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  255- 

I  am  conscious  of  no  wrong  done  by  me.  What  I  have  done  may 
be  made  the  subject  of  judicial  inquiry,  and  I  am  ready  to  meet  that 
inquiry  and  its  consequences  before  any  tribunal. 

(Signed)  WILLIAM  SEEGER. 

Seeger's  attorneys  were  Hon.  C.  K.  Davis,  Greenleaf  Clark^ 
John  M.  Oilman  of  St.  Paul,  and  Gordon  E.  Cole  of  Faribault. 
This  letter  was,  of  course,  prepared  by  his  attorneys,  and  was 
really  a  very  manly  statement  of  the  situation.  It  was  eminently 
true,  and  created  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  for  Mr.  Seeger.  It 
never  was  proven  that  he  personally  profited  a  dollar  by  the 
defalcation,  in  fact  it  was  conceded  he  did  not.  He  was  simply 
used  as  a  cover  for  a  relative,  and  the  bondsmen  had,  as  he  said,, 
made  up  the  deficit,  so  that  in  the  outcome  the  state  did  not  lose 
a  dollar,  and  at  the  time  he  wrote  this  letter  the  money  which  was 
not  in  the  treasury  vaults  when  my  article  was  printed  and  the 
investigation  began,  was  actually  there,  but  it  was  raised  and 
placed  there  by  the  bondsmen. 

The  leading  and  most  responsible  bondsmen  were  Horace 
Thompson,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  St.  Paul,. 
Charles  Scheffer  of  St.  Paul,  but  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Stillwater,  and  Maurice  Auerbach,  of  the  wholesale  dry 
goods  firm  of  Auerbach,  Finch  &  Schefifer.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
Munch  and  Seeger  had  been  fair  enough  to  advise  their  bonds- 
men of  the  deficit  prior  to  the  publication  of  my  article  in  the 
Dispatch,  and  they,  the  bondsmen,  had  aided  in  placing  the 
necessary  money  in  the  treasury  at  critical  periods  when  legis- 
lative committees  were  counting  the  funds,  hoping  in  this  man- 
ner to  postpone  the  evil  day,  and  also  inspired  by  the  hope  that 
Munch  would  recuperate  his  shattered  business  fortunes  and 
restore  the  missing  funds.  When  the  investigation  was  ordered,, 
showing  that  the  exposure  must  come,  they  met  their  responsi- 
bilities like  brave  and  honorable  men.  They  all  proved  them- 
selves the  souls  of  honor,  and  the  state  recovered  every  dollar, 
principal  and  interest,  without  having  to  bring  suit,  which  is 
almost  unparalleled  in  defalcations  of  such  magnitude. 

Mr.  Thompson  called  the  bondsmen  together  and  told  them 
they  must  raise  every  dollar  that  was  due  the  state.  Of  course 
some  were  better  able  to  pay  their  proportion  than  others,  but  it 


256  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  undoubtedly  a  great  burden  on  every  one.  Mr.  Thompson 
never  faltered,  and  not  only  paid  his  share,  but  aided  others  less 
able  in  raising  the  necessary  funds  to  recoup  the  state. 

Emil  Munch,  who  had  originated  the  deficit,  and  his  brother 
Adolph  Munch  were  also  on  Seeger's  bonds,  but  were  unable  to 
do  much  towards  making  good  and  the  brunt  of  the  burden  fell 
upon  the  three  men  first  named.  Mr.  Munch  turned  all  his 
property  over  to  the  bondsmen  but  considerable  of  it  was  in  liti- 
gation which  the  bondsmen  assumed  with  heavy  legal  expenses 
so  that  but  little  was  realized.  Mr.  Auerbach,  the  only  one  of  the 
unfortunate  bondsmen  now  living,  tells  me  that  before  they  were 
through  it  cost  him  personally  nearly  $100,000.  Large  sums 
were  paid  the  state  for  interest,  which  increased  the  original 
deficit  very  materially.  Mr.  Seeger  told  the  legislative  commit- 
tee than  when  he  took  the  treasury  he  accepted  Emil  Munch's 
note  for  $112,000  as  cash  and  the  remainder  was  carried  in  a  pri- 
vate memorandum  book  and  on  loose  slips  which  really  made  it 
very  difficult  to  trace. 

Mr.  Seeger's  letter  was  laid  on  the  table  and  a  resolution 
ordering  his  impeachment  was  immediately  passed.  The 
impeachment  proceedings  were  duly  conducted  by  the  senate, 
according  to  law.  While  they  were  in  progress  Mr.  Seeger  con- 
cluded it  was  best  to  resign,  and  accordingly  sent  his  resignation 
to  Governor  Austin.  Governor  Austin  accepted  the  resignation, 
though  he  was  considerably  criticised  at  the  time  for  doing  so. 
No  one,  however,  felt  any  desire  to  persecute  or  prosecute  Mr. 
Seeger,  though  the  legislature  refused  to  entertain  the  acceptance 
of  the  resignation  and  went  ahead  with  the  impeachment  pro- 
ceedings, convicting  him  and  removing  him  from  office. 

E.  W.  Dike  of  Faribault  was  appointed  treasurer  for  the 
remainder  of  Seeger's  term,  and  the  result  of  the  exposure  was 
that  the  salary  of  the  treasurer  was  immediately  raised  to  $4,000. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  criminally  prosecute  anyone  in  the 
matter. 

It  was  remarkable  that  the  Democrats  made  but  little  fuss 
about  all  this,  they  ha*d  become  so  calloused  by  repeated  defeats 
that  they  did  not  seem  to  think  it  worth  while. 

In  the  50's  Ohio  had  a  somewhat  similar  experience.    John 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  257 

G.  Breslin  (Democrat)  was  a  defaulting  state  treasurer,  but 
secured  the  election  of  his  brother-in-law,  W.  H.  Gibson,  Repub- 
lican, as  his  successor.  The  exposure  came  while  Gibson  was  in 
office.  Breslin  fled  to  Canada,  and  one  of  the  hottest  campaigns 
Ohio  ever  saw  was  waged  between  the  Democrats  and  Repub- 
liticians  as  to  which  political  party  was  responsible.  Gibson  was 
finally  exonerated,  entered  the  army,  serving  with  distinction 
during  the  war,  and  was  elected  to  Congress  as  a  reward  for  his 
military  services. 

In  Minnesota  the  Republicans  were  the  whole  thing,  there 
being  no  Democrats  allowed  to  have  a  chance  by  holding  an 
office.  So  the  whole  onus  was  upon  the  Republican  party.  The 
bondsmen  were  also  all  Republicans  and  their  manly  and  honor- 
able course  prevented  the  defalcation  making  scarcely  a  political 
ripple.  Instead  of  suffering  the  Republicans  went  right  ahead 
with  their  political  prosperity,  but  Republican  legislatures  hedged 
the  state  treasury  about  with  such  legislation  that  such  an  event 
could  not  happen  again.  But  little  absolute  cash  is  now  carried 
over  night  in  the  vaults  of  the  state  treasury. 


17 


OBSERVATION  THIRTY-NINE. 


Senator  McMillan's  Re-Election  in  1881. 


While  it  can  be  said  that  Senator  McMillan  did  not  have  seri- 
ous opposition  to  his  re-election  in  1881  it  should  not  be  sup- 
posed then  he  was  entirely  unopposed. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  his  first  election,  in  1875,  was  as 
a  successor  to  Alexander  Ramsey,  and  that  he  was  chosen  as  a 
compromise  candidate — a  veritable  dark  horse.  His  luck  was 
due  to  the  split  in  the  Republican  party,  and  can  be  charged  up 
to  the  account  of  a  political  intrigue.  Senator  McMillan  himself 
never  was  a  politician.  He  had  been  for  many  years,  and  still 
was  when  elected  senator,  on  the  bench,  and  this  gave  him  an 
excuse  for  keeping  aloof  from  politics,  an  excuse  which  I  am 
sure  was  desired,  for  it  is  to  ex-Senator  McMillan's  credit  that 
he  was  never  enamored  of  professional  politics. 

During  the  canvass  for  the  election  of  the  legislature  no  can- 
didate was  talked  of  in  opposition  to  Senator  McMillan,  and,^ 
while  his  candidacy  was  not  formally  an  issue  in  the  campaign, 
it  was  the  general  impression  that,  according  to  the  usual  custom, 
he  would  be  given  a  second  term  without  a  contest.  There 
was,  therefore,  a  good  dek\  of  surprise  when  on  the  226.  of 
December,  1880,  some  six  or  seven  weeks  after  the  election  of  the 
legislature,  the  Pioneer  Press  came  out  with  a  double  leaded 
editorial,  placing  ex-Senator  Ramsey  in  the  field.  Ramsey  was 
then  secretary  of  war  in  Hayes'  cabinet,  having  been  appointed 
to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  McCrary  of 
Iowa,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  senate  from  that  state.  Gar- 
field was  president-elect,  and,  of  course,  Ramsey's  term  in  the 
cabinet  would  expire  with  the  termination  of  the  Hayes  admin- 

(268) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  259 

istration,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1881.  That  would  also  be  the 
date  for  the  beginning  of  the  term  of  the  senator  to  be  elected 
in  January,  1881,  by  the  Minnesota  legislature.  To  say  that  this 
announcement  created  consternation  in  the  McMillan  ranks,  is 
to  state  the  situation  mildly.  It  was  a  regular  thunder  clap. 
The  McMillan  men  could  not  believe  that  Ramsey  was  a  party 
to  the  scheme,  as  they  had  regarded  his  cabinet  position  only  a 
temporary  resurrection  and  thought,  at  his  age,  he  would  not 
again  be  in  the  field  for  an  office  where  a  contest  was  necessary. 
A  delegation  of  McMillan's  friends  posted  off  to  Washington, 
confident  that  they  would  secure  Ramsey's  refusal  to  be  a  can- 
didate, but  they  found  he  was  made  of  sterner  stuff.  While  he 
did  not  blame  McMillan  personally,  he  felt  that  he  (McMillan) 
had  profited  by  his  (Ramsey's)  defeat  in  1875,  and  the  tempo- 
rary residence  in  Washington  as  a  member  of  the  cabinet  made 
him  desirous  for  the  old  position  in  the  senate,  which  he  had 
already  held  for  twelve  years,  but  which  would  be  nicely  rounded 
out  if  the  figure  was  raised  to  eighteen.  There  was  trouble  in 
the  air  and  dejection  in  that  committee's  ranks  when  they 
returned  to  St.  Paul  with  several  fleas  in  their  ears. 

It  is  due  the  Pioneer  Press  to  say  that  it  made  a  splendidly 
aggressive  campaign  in  behalf  of  Ramsey,  albeit  it  was  bitterly 
personal.  For  downright  bluff  and  continuous  proclamation  of 
certain  success,  it  has  rarely  been  equaled.  While  its  heavy  work 
was  for  Ramsey,  it  incidentally  boomed  C.  K.  Davis  and  Gen. 
John  B.  Sanborn.  They  were  ileither  of  them  actual  candidates, 
any  more  than  when  a  man  is  prominently  mentioned  for  such 
a  position  as  United  States  senator,  it  usually  inspires  a  hope 
that  the  mention  may  grow  into  a  reality.  Of  course,  the 
Pioneer  Press  motive  was  to  disintegrate  McMillan's  strength 
by  setting  the  senatorial  bee  buzzing  in  the  bonnet  of  Davis  and 
Sanborn,  on  the  theory  that  some  members  of  the  legislature 
might  vote  for  them  who  could  not,  at  least  at  the  outset,  be 
induced  to  go  for  Ramsey,  and  otherwise  would  support  McMil- 
lan. In  reality,  I  do  not  think  Senator  McMillan  could  blame 
the  Pioneer  Press,  for  when  he  was  elected  to  the  senate,  the 
editor  of  that  paper  (Mr.  Wheelock)  was  just  beginning  his  sec- 
ond term  as  postmaster  of  St.  Paul,  but  the  senator,  almost  as 


260  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

his  first  official  act,  recommended  the  late  Dr.  David  Day,  who 
was  his  brother-in-law,  for  that  position,  and  he  was  duly- 
appointed.  Dr.  Day  was  one  of  the  targets  at  which  the  Pioneer 
Press  constantly  shot,  the  favorite  epithet  being,  "Brother-in-law 
Postmaster  Day."  While  as  politics  go,  this  made  the  Pioneer 
Press'  opposition  to  McMillan  natural,  it  at  the  same  time  weak- 
ened its  cause,  and  probably  was  the  greatest  factor  in  making 
the  fight  unsuccessful,  as  the  state  at  large,  which  had  not  suff- 
ered, took  no  interest  in  inflicting  revenge. 

The  legislature  stood  ii8  straight  Republicans  to  26  Demo- 
crats, with  three  greenbackers,  who  were  also  Republicans.  The 
contest  was  consequently  a  purely  family  fight,  without  enough 
Democratic  opposition  to  be  of  the  slighest  interest..  The  Mc- 
Millan men  evidently  feared  holding  an  early  caucus,  and,  of 
course,  the  Ramsey  men  were  glad  of  delay.  Where  a  candi- 
date feels  confident  of  success,  he  rushes  the  caucus  within  a 
day  or  two  after  the  legislature  meets,  but  in  this  case  it  was 
postponed  until  Jan.  13,  1881,  which  was  only  five  days  prior 
to  the  date  fixed  by  the  Congressional  act  for  the  election. 
Every  day  from  the  226.  of  December  to  the  morning  of  the 
caucus,  the  Pioneer  Press  contained  a  fusilade  on  the  subject, 
nearly  always  concluding  with  the  assertion  that  McMillan's 
chances  were  hopeless.  Some  of  the  other  Republican  papers 
argued  that  McMillan  was  entitled  to  the  usual  precedent  of  the 
second  term,  to  which  the  P.  P.  replied  that  as  his  election  was 
an  accident,  and  the  result  of  a  dead-lock,  he  had  no  further  claim 
to  the  consideration  of  the  party.  The  caucus  met  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  13th  with  114  present,  making  58  necessary  to  a  choice. 
Contrary  to  usual  custom,  no  nominating  speeches  were  made, 
and  as  soon  as  the  caucus  was  organized,  an  informal  ballot  was 
ordered,  which  resulted:  McMillan  64,  Ramsey  26,  Davis  16, 
Sanborn  7,  Mons  Grinager  i.  The  formal  ballot  stood:  Mc- 
Millan 78,  Ramsey  26,  Davis  10.  Dr.  Day  had  won  his  spurs, 
though  he  was  far  from  being  alone  in  the  canvas  for  McMillan. 
The  religious  element  of  the  Republican  party  was  a  strong 
adjunct  to  the  doctor's  campaign,  but  the  following  announce- 
ment in  the  P.  P.  the  next  morning  after  the  caucus,  I  think, 
referred  to  the  doctor's  branch  of  the  subject: 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  261 

"At  the  Merchants  Hotel  the  victors  celebrated  their  victory 
by  a  convivial  gathering  over  a  dozen  quarts  of  champagne,  and 
the  boys  had  a  good  time  in  number  i8." 

"Editorially,  the  Pioneer  Press  the  morning  after  the  caucus, 
reviewed  the  situation,  I  presume  very  truthfully.  While  that 
review  is  of  no  consequence  at  this  date,  so  far  as  the  result  is 
concerned,  it  is  really  of  historical  value,  as,  showing  how  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  double  up  on  their  promises,  and  can  be 
used  as  a  pointer  for  those  who  may  engage  in  the  future  in 
similar  contests.     Here  is  the  salient  portion  of  the  editorial : 

"At  one  time  and  another  during  the  progress  of  the  canvass 
between  50  and  60  of  the  Republican  senators  and  representatives 
had  positively  and  cordially  agreed  to  support  Ramsey  for  sen- 
ator. Of  these  there  remained,  up  to  the  time  of  the  caucus,  46 
Republican  senators  and  representatives  who  had  agreed  over 
and  over  again  to  vote  for  Ramsey  on  the  first  and  subsequent 
ballots,  and  had  given  no  notice  to  his  friends  of  any  change  of 
intention,  and  a  large  number  in  addition  who  had  agreed  to 
support  him  after  the  first,  second  or  third  ballot.  If  the  accu- 
racy of  this  statement  is  challenged  by  any  responsible  McMillan 
man,  the  names  of  these  46  men,  whose  personal  assurances  were 
given  that  they  would  vote  for  Ramsey,  will  be  published  in  the 
Pioneer  Press.  When  the  first  informal  ballot  was  taken  but 
23  of  these  men  voted  for  Ramsey — just  half  the  number  who 
had  assured  his  friends  that  he  was  their  first  choice,  and  that 
they  would  vote  and  work  for  his  election,  and  who  failed  to  give 
notice  of  any  change  in  their  intentions.  If  these  46  men  had 
voted  for  Ramsey,  as  they  had  promised  to  do,  McMillan's  vote 
on  the  first  ballot  would  have  been  reduced  to  44." 

On  the  i8th  of  January,  when  the  senate  and  house  voted 
separately,  the  vote  stood  in  the  senate,  McMillan  29,  Daniel 
Buck  of  Mankato  (Dem.)  5,  Davis  i,  Judge  M.  J.  Severance  i. 
Senator  William  Campbell,  a  Democrat,  was  the  one  who  voted 
for  Davis,  while  Daniel  Buck,  who  was  in  the  senate,  voted  for 
Severance.  In  the  house  the  vote  stood  McMillan  92,  H.  H: 
Sibley  (Dem.)  4,  C.  H.  Roberts  2.  Senators  Beeman,  Langdon 
and  Mealey,  Republicans,  and  Simmons,  Democrat,  were  absent. 
The  joint  session  the  next  day  was  merely  a  ratification  meeting 


262  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

by  the  reading  of  the  journals  of  the  respective  houses.  After 
Ramsey  had  been  originally  brought  out  as  a  candidate,  the 
secretary  of  the  navy  died,  and  President  Hayes  had  (though 
he  was  secretary  of  war)  appointed  him  to  that  position  for  ten 
days,  which  he  was  at  liberty  to  do  under  the  law  without  send- 
ing his  name  to  the  senate.  When  the  first  ten  days  had  expired 
he  reappointed  him  for  another  ten  days,  and  so  on.  But  while 
our  distinguished  fellow  citizen  was  holding  two  cabinet  posi- 
tions, there  were  only  26  members  of  the  legislature  to  do  him 
reverence. 

As  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  religious  element  participat- 
ing in  that  campaign,  it  seems  only  fair  to  quote  from  the  Pioneer 
Press  of  Sunday,  January  i6th,  the  following  tribute  to  that  inno- 
vation in  politics : 

No  one  who  knows  Loren  Fletcher  and  D.  M.  Sabin  and  C.  D. 
Gilfillan  and  Wilder  and  Merriam  and  N.  P.  Clarke  can  doubt  for  a 
moment  that  they  were  working  throughout  the  canvass  with  an  eye 
single  to  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  Christianity,  The  zeal  dis- 
played by  these  gentlemen  in  spreading  the  gospel  of  Christ  and  extend- 
ing the  walls  of  Zion  cannot  be  too  highly  commended. 

Perhaps  I  should  add,  as  a  counter  religious  irritant,  that 
Col.  William  S.  King  of  Minneapolis  was  one  of  Ramsey's  stal- 
wart supporters.  "Wilder  and  Merriam,"  referred  to  in  the 
above,  were  the  late  A.  H.  Wilder  and  John  L.  Merriam,  uncle 
and  father,  respectively,  of  ex-Governor  Merriam.  They  had 
always  previously  been  Ramsey's  most  devoted  supporters,  and 
to  my  personal  knowledge  his  (Ramsey's)  second  election  to  the 
senate  was  absolutely  secured  by  aid  which  they  were  able  to 
render  at  an  opportune  but  desperate  moment  in  the  contest  of 
1869.     Evidently  in  1881  things  were  not  as  they  used  to  be. 


OBSERVATION  FORTY. 


The    Nomination   and    Election    of    Hon.   J.    B.    Gilfillan   to 

Congress. 


One  of  the  notable  and  perhaps  the  most  peculiar  contests  for 
congressional  honor  which  ever  occurred  in  the  state  took  place 
in  the  Fourth  Congressional  district  in  the  spring  of  1884.  Hon. 
W.  D,  Washburn  was  elected  from  the  Third  district  in  1878; 
and,  after  representing  that  district  two  terms,  a  new  apportion- 
men  cut  down  the  Third  district,  and  out  of  a  portion  of  it  made 
the  Fourth  district.  This  district  consisted  of  the  counties  of 
Anoka,  Chisago,  Hennepin,  Isanti,  Kanabec,  Pine,  Ramsey, 
Sherburne,  Washington  and  Wright.  Mr.  Washburn  continued 
in  office  from  the  Fourth  district  for  one  term,  but  he  had  in 
reahty  served  three  terms  in  Congress ;  and,  while  at  the  outset 
he  would  not  have  been  averse  to  continuing  in  the  same  posi- 
tion to  represent  the  Fourth  district  exclusively,  as  there  were 
other  aspirants,  he  concluded  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  fourth 
term.  Hennepin  county,  however,  claimed  the  congressman 
by  right  of  inheritance,  and  Loren  Fletcher  considered  that  he 
was  the  natural  successor  of  Washburn,  as  he  had  previously 
subordinated  his  ambition  in  order  to  give  his  warm  personal 
and  politcal  friend  Washburn  the  first  chance.  He  entered  the 
lists  early,  and  at  first  had  W.  R.  Merriam  of  St.  Paul  (afterward 
elected  governor)  as  a  competitor.  A  month  before  the  nominat- 
ing convention  Merriam  decided  not  to  run,  and  Albert  Scheflfer 
of  St.  Paul  then  entered  the  race.  It  was  in  reality  the  old,  old 
story  of  a  contest  between  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis. 

Schefifer  had  formerly  lived  in  Washington  county,  and  was 
really  selected  for  his  supposed  strength  in  that  locality.     It  was 

(2«3) 


264  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

thought  with  Washington  and  Ramsey  counties  in  his  favor  he 
could  carry  enough  of  the  smaller  counties  to  win.  The  chief 
battle  ground  of  the  entire  contest  was,  therefore,  in  Washing- 
ton county.  There  were  13  towns  in  the  county,  and  11  of  these 
Scheffer  carried  without  contest,  and  claimed  to  have  carried 
the  other  two,  though  the  Fletcherites  disputed  it. 

As  showing  how  small  matters  often  produce  large  results, 
the  contest  in  Lakeland,  one  of  the  towns  in  Washington  county, 
can  be  cited.  Mr.  B.  K.  Watson  was  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican town  committee.  His  sympathies  were  rather  with  Schefifer 
than  Fletcher;  but  Scheffer,  having  drifted  away  from  the 
Republican  party  in  the  Greeley  campaign  of  1872,  Watson  did 
not  really  feel  as  if  he  could  allow  his  sympathies  to  prevail. 
Elias  McKean  of  Lakeland  was  a  violently  ardent  Schefifer  man. 
He  came  to  Mr.  Watson  one  morning  and  asked  him  to  call  a 
caucus  the  afternoon  of  that  same  day.  Of  course,  it  is  cus- 
tomary in  sharp  political  work  to  steal  a  march  on  the  enemy; 
but  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  Watson  declined,  but  promised  to  call 
it  the  next  day,  giving  24  hours'  notice  instead  of  no  notice  at  all. 
Fayette  Marsh  of  Stillwater  was  sent  over  to  Lakeland*  by  D.  M. 
Sabin  to  superintend  the  caucus  for  Fletcher.  He  came  to  Mr. 
Watson,  and,  while  Watson  did  not  profess  to  be  for  Fletcher, 
he  explained  how  he  felt  towards  Schefifer  on  account  of  the 
Greeley  wave,  so  that  Marsh  thought  it  safer  to  rely  upon  him 
than  McKean.  He,  accordingly,  went  down  to  the  mill  at  Lake- 
land and  marshaled  62  men,  telling  them  to  go  up  to  the  caucus 
and  follow  Watson's  lead.  The  men  went  up  as  directed,  and 
promptly  at  the  hour  named  in  the  call,  McKean  insisted  on  Wat- 
son calling  the  caucus  to  order.  As  soon  as  it  was  called  to 
order  someone  nominated  McKean  as  a  delegate  to  the  county 
convention.  The  62  men  Marsh  had  sent  up,  thinking  they  were 
obeying  orders,  as  they  saw  Watson  presiding,  all  voted  for 
McKean,  and  the  most  rabid  Scheflfer  man  in  the  whole  county 
was  elected  in  a  twinkling.  In  the  meantime  Marsh  was  down 
at  the  lumber  yard  getting  some  more  men  together  to  come  up 
and  follow  Watson's  lead.  Before  he  returned,  in  addition  to 
McKean,  Henry  Vollmer,  another  Scheflfer  man,  was  duly  elected 
by  the  original  62.     So  that  Marsh  had  succeeded  in  securing  a 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  2G5 

full  delegation  of  Scheffer  men  from  Lakeland  to  the  county 
convention. 

Small  as  this  circumstance  was,  it  had  a  vital  bearing  upon 
the  general  result.  Scheffer  had  23  votes  from  the  country 
towns  to  the  county  convention,  while  Stillwater  was  entitled 
to  five  delegates  from  the  First  ward,  ten  from  the  Second  ward 
and  nine  from  the  Third  ward,  a  total  of  24.  If  the  two  votes 
from  Lakeland  could  have  been  added  to  the  Fletcher  column 
it  would  have  made  Schefifer's  cause  almost  hopeless.  The  cau- 
cuses in  Stillwater  were  held  in  the  evening.  The  Seymour- 
Sabin  car  shops  were  then  in  full  blast,  and  employed  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  carry  the  city  in  any  direction  desired.  Sen- 
ator D.  M.  Sabin  issued  orders  for  all  the  car-shop  men  to  vote 
the  Fletcher  delegate  ticket.  To  make  sure  that  they  did  so, 
ballots  printed  on  blood-red  paper  were  secured  for  the  Fletcher 
delegates.  Fayette  Marsh,  who  was  the  generalissimo  on  the 
Fletcher  side,  took  the  precaution  of  having  ballots  printed  on 
green  paper  as  well,  lest  the  Scheflfer  forces  might  get  out  red 
tickets  also.  The  Scheflfer  men  did  not  find  out  about  the  col- 
ored tickets  in  time,  and  voted  ballots  printed  on  plain  white 
paper,  but  tried  to  bring  the  red  ballots  into  disrepute  by  styling 
them  the  "blood  vote."  It  early  became  evident  to  the  Scheffer 
men  that  the  Fletcher  forces  could  carry  the  First  and  Second 
wards.  They  accordingly  resorted  to  the  usual  political  trick  of 
laying  the  groundwork  for  a  contest,  and  devoted  all  their  ener- 
gies to  the  Third  ward,  with  the  result  that  Fletcher  had  15 
uncontested  votes  from  Stillwater  and  nine  contested  votes.  He 
also  had  one  vote  from  Stillwater  town  uncontested  and  one  vote 
from  Bay  town,  a  suburb  of  Stillwater.  This  gave  him  17  uncon- 
tested votes  in  the  county  convention  to  Schefifer's  23,  and  who- 
ever got  the  nine  votes  from  the  Third  ward  of  Stillwater  con- 
trolled the  convention.  When  this  situation  dawned  both  sides 
deliberately  determined  to  make  a  double-headed  county  conven- 
tion. There  was  no  concealment  about  the  plan  whatever.  The 
county  convention  was  called  to  meet  at  2  p.  m.  in  the  court 
house,  on  Saturday,  May  24th.  I  spent  the  forenoon  in  Still- 
water prior  to  the  convention,  and  the  current  talk  was  that  there 
was  to  be  a  fight   physically,  and   one    convention    was    to   be 


266  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

thrown  out  of  the  windows  Hterally,  while  the  other  went  ahead 
and  did  business. 

E.  S.  Hospes,  who  was  a  Scheffer  man,  was  chairman  of  the 
county  committee,  and  the  duty  would  have  devolved  upon 
him  of  calling  the  convention  to  order.  He  was  out  of  town, 
however,  and  gave  his  proxy  to  George  F.  Sabin,  an  equally 
ardent  Scheffer  man.  I  went  up  to  the  court  house  about  half 
past  I  in  order  to  get  a  safe  and  advantageous  position  where 
I  could  witness  the  fight,  v^hich  had  been  so  vociferously 
promised.  As  the  town  was  full  of  lumber  jacks  who  had 
been  carousing  more  or  less,  I  anticipated  a  very  enjoyable 
afternoon.  The  great  point  at  issue  was  regularity,  and,  of 
course,  the  convention  which  got  started  first  would  have  the 
semblance  of  regularity.  Sabin  was  rather  inexperienced  in 
politics  and  very  nervous.  He  really  wanted  to  be  fair  if 
it  did  not  interfere  with  Scheffer's  chances,  and  unfair  if  it 
did.  About  a  quarter  of  2  both  sides  filed  in  in  force  into 
the  little  court  room.  Sabin  was  particularly  nervous  and 
constantly  consulting  his  watch.  He  finally  proposed  to 
Marsh  that  as  he  (Sabin)  was  acting  chairman  of  the  coun- 
ty committee  they  should  compare  watches,  so  that  the  con- 
vention might  be  called  to  order  at  exactly  2  o'clock.  Marsh 
was  a  shrewder  politician  than  Sabin,  and  treated  the  proposi- 
tion contemptuously,  but  at  the  same  time  gave  a  preconcerted 
signal  which  instantly  called  Stephen  Danforth,  a  member  of 
the  county  committee,  to  the  platform.  Danforth  began  to  read 
the  call,  while  Sabin  was  still  looking  at  his  watch.  In  about 
three  seconds  it  dawned  on  Sabin  that  he  was  getting  left,  and 
he,  too,  jumped  on  the  platform,  but  wasted  valuable  time  by 
stopping  to  read  his  proxy  from  Hospes,  and  then  began  to  read 
the  call.  Danforth  was  accordingly  a  few  laps  ahead,  as  he  had 
finished  reading  the  call.  He  promptly  nominated  J.  H.  Town- 
send,  a  Fletcher  man,  for  chairman,  and'  as  promptly  declared 
him  elected.  Sabin  had  located  himself  in  the  judge's  desk.  By 
this  time  Townsend  immediately  came  to  the  platform  and  stood 
up  beside  him  to  rally  the  Fletcher  convention,  while  Sabin  had 
charge  of  the  Scheffer  convention.  At  this  stage  of  the  proceed- 
ings Abe  Hall,  deputy  warden  in  the  state  prison,  who  was  a 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  267 

powerful  and  something  of  a  fighting  man,  ran  up  to  Sabin  and, 
throwing  his  arms  about  him,  pinning  Sabin's  arms  to  his  side, 
carried  him  out  on  the  platform  in  front  of  the  clerk's  desk ;  so 
that  the  first  blood  for  regularity  was  with  the  Fletcherites,  as 
their  chairman  was  ensconsed  upon  the  bench.  By  this  time 
Sabin  had  collected  his  wits  and  proceeded  to  read  the  call,  and 
went  through  the  form  of  selecting  A.  F.  Noyes  of  Forest  Lake 
for  chairman  of  the  Scheffer  convention.  Everything  had  been 
cut  and  dried  as  a  matter  of  course.  Noyes  instantly  appointed 
a  committee  on  credentials,  with  George  F.  Sabin  as  chairman. 
Sabin,  just  as  promptly,  pulled  out  of  his  pockets  a  report  of  the 
committee  on  credentials,  giving  the  names  of  the  23  SchefTer 
delegates  from  the  country,  and  the  nine  Scheflfer  delegates 
from  the  Third  ward  in  Stillwater,  thus  giving  Schefifer  an 
overwhelming  majority  in  the  convention. 

Sabin  had  no  sooner  read  the  last  name  on"  his  list  of  creden- 
tials than  Sam  Judd  of  Marine  had  his  mouth  open  to  report  a 
list  of  delegates  to  the  district  convention  to  be  held  at  Minne- 
apolis on  the  28th.  This  is  what  would  be  termed  rapid  firing 
in  war,  and  is  probably  as  permissible  in  political  war  as  in 
actual  war.  As  quick  as  Sam  Judd  had  read  the  names  of  seven 
men  to  go  to  Minneapolis  the  chairman  of  the  SchefiFer  conven- 
tion declared  them  elected,  and  a  second  later  a  motion  to 
adjourn  was  put  and  carried,  and  the  Scheflfer  men  walked  out 
of  the  court  house. 

In  spite  of  Sabin's  frequent  consultations  of  his  watch,  it  was 
-exactly  2  p.  m.  when  he  read  his  credentials  report,  and  four  min- 
utes after  2  p.  m.  when  the  SchefTer  convention  adjourned. 

Having  gotten  rid  of  their  surplusage,  the  Fletcher  conven- 
tion was  more  deliberate.  Marsh  sent  out  and  got  a  stenogra- 
pher and  talked  two  columns  of  solid  nonpareil,  besides  another 
solid  column  of  resolutions,  all  of  which  were  devoted  to  the 
question  of  regularity  and  denouncing  Scheflfer  and  his  adher- 
ents. 

The  Fletcher  convention  only  consisted  of  delegates  from 
the  three  wards  of  Stillwater  and  one  from  Stillwater  Town  and 
one  from  Baytown;  11  towns  from  the  country  were  absolutely 
unrepresented;  but  seven  delegates  were  sent  to  the  district 
convention  at  Minneapolis  just  the  same. 


268  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

And  now  the  war  was  transferred  from  Stillwater  to  Min- 
neapolis. The  district  convention  met  in  Market  Hall,  Minne- 
apolis, at  12  noon  May  28th.  It  was  presumably  composed  of 
the  following  delegates:  Anoka  3,  Kanabec  i,  Ramsey  15,  Chi- 
sago 4,  Pine  I,  Wright  7,  Isanti  2,  Sherburne  i,  Hennepin  17, 
uncontested,  and  Washington  county  7,  contested.  C.  H.  Pettit, 
chairman  of  the  district  committee,  called  the  convention  to 
order  at  ten  minutes  past  12,  and  the  contest  for  temporary  chair- 
man was  immediately  inaugurated.  J.  H.  Thompson  nominated 
George  A.  Camp  of  Minneapolis,  while  Governor  Marshall  nomi- 
nated L.  K.  Stannard  of  Chisago  as  the  Scheffer  chairman. 
Anoka,  Chisago,  Kanabec,  Pine,  Ramsey  and  Sherburne  coun- 
ties voted  solidly  for  Stannard,  giving  him  25,  while  Wright, 
Hennepin  and  Isanti  voted  solidly  for  Camp,  giving  him  26. 
George  A.  Camp  was  a  great  man  in  politics.  I  have  seen  him 
in  many  political  contests,  and  I  never  Saw  one  who  put  up  as 
fine  a  bluff  for  being  fair,  without  the  slightest  intention  of  carry- 
ing it  out,  as  he  could.  He  would  really  convince  both  sides 
that  their  destiny  was  absolutely  safe  in  his  hands,  and  it  was — 
for  the  side  he  was  on.  In  taking  the  chair  on  this  occasion,  Mr. 
Camp  said: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention:  I  thank  you  for  this  honor  and 
mark  of  confidence  reposed  in  me  by  selecting  me  as  your  temporary 
chairman.  In  all  fairness  and  justice  to  every  member  I  shall  not  in 
any  way  abuse  the  confidence  imposed  in  me.  So  far  as  my  actions 
shall  go  in  furthering  the  temporary  organization  I  shall  endeavor  to 
give  every  member  an  equal  and  just  opportunity  to  present  his  claims. 

Colonel  Benton  immediately  moved  that  a  committee  of  one 
be  appointed  from  each  senatorial  district  on  credentials. 
Governor  Marshall  moved  to  appoint  one  from  each  county. 
Marshall's  motion  was  lost  by  24  for  it  and  27  against  it,  and 
Benton's  motion  then  prevailed.  Both  the  Fletcher  and  the 
Scheffer  men  had  held  caucuses  the  night  previous  and  arranged 
everything  in  advance  as  well  as  they  could ;  but  it  is  not  always 
that  quite  as  bald  a  performance  is  given  as  on  this  occasion, 
Colonel  Benton  walked  to  the  platform,  and,  taking  from  his 
pocket  a  paper,  handed  the  chairman  a  Hst  of  the  committee  on 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  269 

credentials  selected  by  the  Fletcher  caucus,  and  the  chairman 
who  was  publicly  pledged  to  be  eminently  fair — to  his  side, 
promptly  announced  that  as  the  credentials  committee. 

Of  course,  if  this  credentials  committee  could  have  stood 
and  their  report  have  been  adopted,  Mr.  Fletcher  would  have 
been  the  nominee  beyond  peradventure.  Col.  H.  G.  Hicks  then 
moved  that  the  committee  on  credentials  be  instructed  to  report 
the  Washington  county  contest  to  the  convention  w^ithout  rec- 
ommendation. The  chair  very  properly  said  that  such  a  motion 
was  out  of  order,  as  it  practically  rendered  a  committee  on  cre- 
dentials unnecessary.  The  chair,  however,  actually  did  have  a 
spasm  of  fairness,  and  said  he  would  entertain  the  motion  in  the 
interests  of  harmony,  provided  it  was  unanimous.  And  here 
the  Fletcher  men  seemed  to  have  fallen  asleep,  for  no  one 
objected,  and  Colonel  Hicks'  motion  was  unanimously  carried. 
If  that  motion  had  been  lost  Mr.  Fletcher  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  the  nominee  for  Congress.  The  credentials  committee 
in  reality  had  nothing  to  do,  and  in  a  short  time  submitted  their 
report,  naming  the  delegates  from  all  of  the  counties  except 
Washington.  When  they  came  to  Washington,  the  committee 
reported  that  Fayette  Marsh  had  submitted  one  side  of  the  case, 
and  George  F.  Sabin  the  other,  and  without  stating  what  either 
side  was  they  left  it  to  the  convention  to  decide. 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  Mr.  Wyncoop  of  Chisago 
county  wanted  to  withdraw  both  Fletcher  and  Scheflfer.  In 
response  Governor  Marshall  offered  to  withdraw  Scheflfer's  name 
if  Hennepin  county  would  withdraw  Fletcher.  This  brought  no 
response  from  Hennepin  county,  and  Colonel  Benton  moved  to 
proceed  with  the  regular  order  of  business.  A  motion  was  made 
to  give  Marsh  and  Sabin  30  minutes  each  to  present  their  case 
to  the  convention.  H.  F.  Barker  of  Isanti  county  moved  to  lay 
that  motion  on  the  table.  Messrs.  H.  G.  Hicks  and  H.  A.  Cas- 
tle, both  Scheflfer  men,  favored  omitting  Washington  county 
altogether.  Barker's  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  carried  by  26 
to  25. 

The  next  motion  was  for  a  recess,  but  that  was  voted  down 
by  26  to  25.  Then  it  began  to  dawn  on  Barker  that  he  had  some 
power,  and  in  fact  as  the  sequel  proved  that  he  was  the  whole 
convention. 


270  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

By  some  peculiar  process,  in  spite  of  the  tabling  of  the  mo- 
tion to  allow  the  Washington  county  case  to  be  presented,  the 
case  was  taken  up  without  reconsidering  that  vote.  A  long 
debate  followed.  Marsh,  Sabin  and  half  a  dozen  others  partici- 
pated in  discussing  the  merits  of  the  Washington  county  case. 
Pettit  made  a  motion  to  admit  the  Fletcher  delegation  from 
Washington  county.  Governor  Marshall  as  promptly  made  the 
motion  to  admit  the  Schefifer  delegates.  Barker  again  appeared 
and  proposed  to  lay  the  whole  thing  on  the  table.  It  was  already 
on  the  table,  but  it  went  there  for  a  second  time  by  the  cele- 
brated vote  of  26  to  25. 

Up  to  the  time  these  pages  go  to  press  Washington  county  is 
still  lying  on  the  table.  At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  Mr. 
Langdon  moved  that  the  convention  proceed  to  ballot  independ- 
ent of  Washington  county.  Perhaps  Mr.  Langdon  did  not 
realize  at  the  time,  in  view  of  his  subsequent  attitude,  that  this 
motion  in  reality  gave  up  the  whole  question,  and  that  he  really 
became  a  party  to  the  result  of  the  convention  unwittingly. 

The  debate  over  Washington  county  had  enabled  Mr.  Bar- 
ker of  Isanti  to  pull  himself  together  and  see  just  where  he  was 
at.  He  discovered  that  omitting  Washington  county,  there  were 
25  Fletcher  men  and  25  Schef^er  men  in  the  convention.  It  also 
dawned  on  him  that,  besides  these  evenly  divided  forces,  there 
was  Barker,  and  that  if  he  could  keep  his  wits  about  him  he  was 
It  with  a  capital  "I."  When  he  had  gotten  Washington  county 
buried  on  the  table,  Mr.  Barker  arose  and  said : 

"On  behalf  of  the  Republicans  of  Isanti  personally  he  wished 
to  make  a  nomination.  He  was  aware  that  there  were  two  can- 
didates who  had  waged  a  hard  and  hot  fight  for  the  nomination. 
He  believed  both  were  able,  honorable  men.  As  between  the 
two  he  had  his  choice.  Owing  to  the  strife  he  doubted  if  either 
could  be  elected.  In  the  interests  of  the  party,  he  wished  to 
present  a  third  name — a  gentleman  from  the  county  of  Henne- 
pin, a  man  who  was  well  qualified  in  every  respect  and  deserving 
the  support  of  this  convention.     He  said  in  conclusion : 

"I  have  the  honor  and  the  pleasure  of  presenting  the  name 
of  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Gilfillan." 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  271 

Mr.  Fletcher's  friends  moved  that  the  nomination  be  made 
by  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  in  the  call.  Mr.  Barker  amended 
by  moving  that  the  majority  of  all  those  voting  nominate.  Bar- 
ker's vote  carried,  as  usual,  by  2.6  to  25,  and  if  he  had  any 
doubt  about  it  before,  then  he  knew  he  was  It.  The  chair 
announced  he  had  a  protest  from  Washington  county,  but  Bar- 
ker objected  to  its  being  read.  Hennepin  county  then  endeav- 
ored to  get  a  recess,  but  Barker  again  objected,  and  26  was  a 
greater  number  than  25.  As  a  remarkable  thing,  both  Fletcher 
and  Schefifer  were  on  the  floor  consulting  with  their  friends,  and 
Schefifer,  though  not  a  delegate,  made  a  speech  in  behalf  of  Gil- 
fillan.  When  the  roll  of  counties  was  called,  Hennepin  and  the 
other  Fletcher  counties  refused  to  vote.  The  following  counties 
voted  for  Gilfillan :  Anoka  3,  Ramsey  15,  Isanti  i,  Kanabec  i, 
Chisago  4,  Pine  i,  Sherburne  i ;  total  26.  Besides  Mr.  Barker. 
E.  G.  Clough  was  a  delegate  from  Isanti  county ;  but,  while  Bar- 
ker ruled  the  convention  to  a  finish,  he  could  not  control  Clough, 
and  Clough  sulked  in  silence  with  the  Fletcher  men.  The  chair 
was  obliged  to  declare  that  the  26  votes  nominated  Gilfillan.  as 
there  were  no  votes  for  any  other  candidate.  A  committee  of 
three,  with  Barker  as  chairman,  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Mr. 
Gilfillan  and  inform  him  of  the  nomination.  While  the  com- 
mittee was  absent  I  busied  myself  by  mingling  with  the  raving 
Fletcherites,  and,  writing  down  their  remarks,  some  of  which 
were  as  follows : 

"He  won't  accept,"  said  Mr.  Fletcher. 

"Of  course  he  won't,"  added  Colonel  Benton. 

"If  he  does  he  will  be  beaten  at  the  polls,"  said  Mr.  Langdon. 

"Washington  county  will  give  the  Democratic  nominee  1,500 
majority,"  said  Rock  Hersey  of  Stillwater. 

"If  the  Democrats  will  nominate  Capt.  Merriman,  Hennepin 
county  will  give  him  3,000  majority,"  chimed  in  George  K.  Shaw 
of  the  Journal. 

"Mr,  Gilfillan  is  a  very  good  man,  but  I  don't  know  whether 
we  will  support  him  in  Wright  county,  for  he  is  not  the  legal 
nominee,"  said  J.  N.  Stacy. 

"There  is  not  any  law  to  make  us  vote  for  him  in  November," 
said  Dr.  Merry  of  Stillwater. 


272  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

"I  don't  know  what  policy  we  shall  pursue  until  we  consult, 
but  this  nomination  does  not  bind  anyone,"  said  Colonel  Benton. 

"Wasn't  it  well  managed  ?"  said  Governor  Marshall. 

"Never  fear  about  his  accepting;    it's  all  understood,"  said 
Capt.  Russell  Blakely  of  St.  Paul. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  noise  and  bustle  on  the  stairway 
which  presaged  the  return  of  the  committee  with  Mr.  Gilfillan. 
The  committee  had  found  him  quietly  at  work  in  his  law  office, 
wholly  unaware  of  the  commotion  which  was  going  on  over  his 
name.  He  told  the  committee  that  he  wanted  to  consult  with  the 
Hennepin  delegation  before  he  decided  what  to  do;  that  he 
would  go  down  to  the  convention  with  them  and  talk  it  over. 
When  he  arrived  at  the  convention  hall  there  was  a  rush  of  the 
17  Hennepin  delegates  to  the  ante  room  where  Mr.  Gilfillan  was 
esconsed  in  waiting.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  mad,  but  some  of 
them  madder  than  others,  notably  R.  B.  Langdon,  who  demanded 
in  so  many  words  that  Mr.  Gilfillan  decline.  Mr.  Gilfillan  is  of 
Scotch  descent,  and  his  Scotch  blood  began  to  boil  over  Lang- 
don's  fusillade.  He  appealed  to  Langdon  to  be  a  little  more 
considerate  in  his  speech,  and  then  ensued  a  general  talk  lasting 
perhaps  half  an  hour.  The  only  member  of  the  Hennepin  dele- 
gation who  advised  him  to  accept  was  C.  H.  Pettit,  and  he  did 
it  in  a  whisper.  Mr.  Gilfillan  is  a  strong  party  man  and  open  to 
*  reasonable  argument,  but  he  cannot  be  driven  or  bulldozed.  If 
he  had  been  met  with  temperate  argument  results  might  have 
been  different,  but  the  intemperate  zeal  of  Fletcher's  friends,  and 
particularly  of  Mr.  Langdon,  changed  the  situation  entirely. 
Mr.  Fletcher  himself  was  especially  insistent  that  Mr.  Gilfillan 
should  decline  the  honor  which  had  come  to  him  unsought.  As 
the  conference  was  about  to  conclude,  Mr.  Langdon  went  to  Mr. 
Gilfillan  again  with  the  demand  that  he  should  refuse  the  nomi- 
nation, accompanied  by  a  threat  of  defeat  at  the  polls  if  he  insisted 
upon  accepting.  This  last  assault  seemed  to  have  settled  it,  and 
with  Langdon  still  raging  Mr.  Gilfillan  walked  into  the  conven- 
tion hall,  where  he  was  received  with  great  applause  by  the  Ram- 
sey county  delegates.  There  was  no  especial  cordiality  on  Mr. 
Camp's  part  when  Mr.  Camp  introduced  him  as  the  nominee, 
but  Mr.  Gilfillan  is  a  calm  and  collected  man  and  faced  the  audi- 
ence, saying: 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  273 

I  have  not  been  a  disinterested  spectator,  though  little  did  I  dream 
that  I  should  be  a  participant  in  this  convention  nor  in  its  proceedings. 
I  am  not  fully  informed  by  what  method  this  conclusion  has  been 
reached.  We  want  the  utmost  harmony  to  prevail.  When  I  see  before 
me  gentlemen  whom  I  know  to  be  patriarchs  in  the  party,  and  also 
younger  men,  bound  to  me  by  more  recent  ties,  and  this  nomination 
coming  from  a  convention  made  up  of  these  elements,  it  is  certainly  a 
strong  appeal  to  me  not  to  flinch,  but  to  accept  the  nomination.  If  it 
shall  appear  in  the  future  that  there  is  any  other  standard-bearer  who 
can  more  solidly  unite  the  opposing  factions  and  lead  the  grand  old 
party  to  victory,  I  shall  be  willing  to  decline  in  his  favor.  Faithfulness 
and  integrity  in  office,  a  wholesome  revision  of  the  tariff,  and  estab- 
lishing a  sound  currency  constitutes  about  all  there  is  in  politics  of  to- 
day; and  should  your  choice  be  ratified  at  the  polls  I  shall  simply  labor 
with  the  hope  with  the  aid  of  Providence  that  I  may  return  among  you 
not  ashamed  to  look  any  of  you  squarely  in  the  face,  but  with  the 
consciousness  that  I  have  discharged  the  duties  imposed  by  your  trust 
with  honesty.  This  nomination  coming  from  this  convention  affords 
me  a  gratification  and  a  pride  which  I  cannot  now  find  words  to  express. 
In  closing  I  wish  to  tender  my  expression  of  gratitude  for  this  unsought- 
for  honor. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Gilfillan  had  concluded  his  speech  and  Ram- 
sey county  had  duly  applauded,  Hennepin  sitting  in  silence,  Gov- 
ernor Marshall  moved  that  the  convention  adjourn.  Mr.  Marsh 
still  wanted  to  get  in  his  Washington  county  protest,  and  the 
chair  said  he  would  receive  it,  but  simultaneously  with  that 
announcement  the  convention  adjourned,  and  the  delegate  con- 
vention of  50  men  and  Barker  passed  into  history. 

It  was  generally  supposed  at  the  time — a  supposition  in 
which  I  shared  myself — that  Washburn  had  inspired  Barker  to 
his  course,  and  Fletcher  and  his  friends  felt  very  indignant 
because  Fletcher  had  always  supported  Washburn.  This  largely 
grew  out  of  the  fact  that  Washburn  expressed  himself,  in  an 
interview  in  Washington,  as  very  much  pleased  with  the  nomina- 
tion of  Gilfillan. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mr.  Barker  and  his  brother  were  young 
lawyers,  one  at  Cambridge,  Isanti  county,  and  the  other,  who 
was  not  in  the  convention,  at  Princeton,  Mille  Lacs  county. 
The  Barker  who  resided  at  Princeton  had  been  a  student  in  Mr. 
Gilfillan's  office,  and  when  the  brothers  set  up  in  law  business 
for  themselves  they  frequently  came  to  Mr.  Gilfillan  for  advice 

18 


274  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

and  assistance  in  preparing  their  legal  papers.  Mr.  Gilfillan  is 
a  very  obliging  gentleman,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  aiding 
the  young  men,  which  he  did  without  asking  any  compensation 
whatever.  The  result  was  he  made  warm  friends  of  the  young 
men,  warmer  perhaps  than  he  even  knew  himself,  and  when  Bar- 
ker of  Isanti  county  found  his  power  he  turned  to  the  man  who 
had  proven  himself  his  friend  in  the  past,  Mr.  Gilfillan,  and  con- 
cluded to  reciprocate,  which  he  did  in  most  elegant  shape. 

Later  the  threat,  which  I  have  already  quoted,  of  carrying 
Washington  county  against  Gilfillan,  was  attempted  to  be  put 
into  effect,  but  in  reality  he  carried  the  county  by  nearly  a  thou- 
sand majority.  Hennepin  county  went  against  him  by  22  votes, 
while  Ramsey  county  gave  him  nearly  500  majority.  There  was 
a  prohibition  candidate  in  the  field  who  received  978  votes.  Gil- 
fillan's  total  vote  in  the  district  was  28,930  and  Merriman's 
(Dem.)  24,496 ;  Gilfillan's  majority  over  Merriman  being  4,434. 

It  may  be  interesting  even  at  this  late  day  to  notice  the  result 
in  detail  by  counties,  and  I  accordingly  append  the  following 
table : 

Gilfillan.  Merriman.       Douglas. 

Anoka    i,  186  784  78 

Chisago   1,356  479  3 

Hennepin 11,540  11,562  692 

Isanti    1,054  297  2 

Kanabec    276  44 

Pine 319  365 

Ramsey   7,598  7,119  68 

Sherburne ^ 581  "       412  8 

Washington  2,675  I743  20 

Wright    .' 2,345       ^  1,691  107 

Total   28,930  24,496  978 

This  affair  delayed  Mr.  Fletcher's  arrival  in  Congress  eight 
years,  which  is  a  good  while  in  the  lifetime  of  a  man  who  had 
reached  the  age  of  Fletcher.  Mr.  Gilfillan  served  his  two  years 
in  Congress,  and  probably  made  as  acceptable  and  efficient  a  rep- 
resentative as  the  district  ever  had.  He  was  eminently  fair  to 
both  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis.  Two  years  later  he  was  defeated 
by  Edmund  Rice  of  St.  Paul,  Democrat.    This  was  perhaps  due 


H.  P.  HALvL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  275 

more  to  the  greater  accomplishments  of  the  Democrats  in  count- 
ing the  votes  in  St.  Paul  than  they  had  two  years  previously. 
The  defeat  was  certainly  no  reflection  upon  Mr.  Gilfillan  person- 
ally. After  Rice  had  served  his  two  years,  Hon.  S.  P.  Snider 
(Rep.)  of  Minneapolis  was  elected  to  Congress  without  Fletcher 
being  a  candidate.  At  the  end  of  Snider's  term  J.  N.  Castle 
(Dem.)  of  Stillwater  served  two  years,  then  Fletcher  again  ap- 
peared in  the  field.  Time  had  seemingly  ehminated  all  animos- 
ity, and  Fletcher  won,  serving  three  terms  in  Congress,  until  he, 
in  turn,  was  defeated  by  John  Lind,  Democrat.  And  thus  time, 
which  is  the  greatest  alleviator,  smoothed  the  pathway  of  the 
Fourth  Congressional  district,  and  Hennepin  county  became  a 
district  by  itself. 

In  the  records  of  political  strife  in  Minnesota  it  will  go  down 
to  history,  because  it  is  here  recorded  that  there  was  never  but 
one  convention  in  the  state  where  one  man  was  the  whole  thing, 
and  50  other  men  were  simply  puppets  in  his  hands. 

His  name  was  Barker. 

Soon  after  the  nomination  it  became  quite  apparent  that  there 
was  trouble  in  Washington  county.  Mr.  Gilfillan,  not  having 
devoted  his  attention  to  active  politics,  was  not  regarded  by  his 
enemies  as  a  skillful  poHtician,  but  he  handled  Washington 
county  in  a  manner  which  demonstrated  that  he  was  much  bet- 
ter equipped  for  the  game  of  politics  than  the  Fletcher-Lang- 
don-Sabin  coterie  had  counted  on.  He  visited  Washington 
county  in  person  informally  and  by  appointment,  but  was  met 
very  coldly,  in  fact  almost  insultingly,  and  after  spending  an 
afternoon  and  evening  there  he  left  Stillwater,  with  the  decision 
that  he  would  not  visit  the  county  again  during  the  canvass. 
He  employed,  however,  a  bright  newspaper  man  who  practically 
made  himself  a  political  detective,  and  sent  him  to  Stillwater  at 
the  time  the  county  convention  was  to  be  held  to  nominate  a 
legislative  and  county  ticket.  The  reporter  or  detective  was  met 
with  open  arms  and  open  mouths  by  the  recalcitrant  Repub- 
licans of  Stillwater.  The  first  real  developments  he  struck  were 
through  Mr.  G.  M.  Seymour  of  the  firm  of  Seymour,  Sabin  & 
Co.  It  developed  from  this  conference  that  there  was  an  organ- 
ized scheme  to  carry  Washington  county,  which  was  normally 


276  H.  P.  HALLOS  OBSERVATIONS. 

200  or  300  Republican,  for  Mr.  O.  C.  Merriman  of  Minneapolis, 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  Congress. 

After  leaving  Mr.  Seymour,  the  detective  consulted  with 
Mr.  E.  G.  Butts,  postmaster  of  Stillwater,  and  the  mine 
grew  richer  the  more  it  was  worked.  The  plafi,  in  brief, 
was  to  secure  $1,000  from  Merriman,  $500  of  which 
was  to  be  used  in  securing  the  support  of  a  Repub- 
lican newspaper,  and  the  remainder  was  to  be  used  among 
some  of  the  Scandinavian  politicians  of  the  county  who  were  in 
a  position  to  render  valuable  service.  In  the  talk  with  the 
detective  Mr.  Butts  developed  that  in  his  opinion  Mr.  Seymour 
was  the  most  available  man  to  handle  the  money  and  see  that 
it  bore  the  most  fruit,  but  before  the  detective  had  parted  with 
Butts  he  had  consented  to  handle  the  money  himself,  of  course 
with  the  understanding  that  nothing  should  be  known  of  his 
connection  with  the  matter.  Fayette  Marsh  was  also  inter- 
viewed, and,  while  he  was  not  as  garrulous  as  Seymour  and  Butts, 
his  talk  fully  confirmed  all  that  had  been  previously  ascertained. 

The  reporter-detective  returned  to  Minneapolis  and  wrote 
out  in  detail  for  Mr.  GilfiUan  the  conversations  he  had,  which 
he  had  quietly  taken  down  in  shorthand  as  they  occurred.  To 
this  report  he  attached  his  affidavit  setting  forth  the  truth  of  his 
report,  and  verified  it  before  a  notary,  who  was  a  friend  of 
Fletcher's. 

Mr.  Gilfillan  adhered  to  his  determination  of  not  again  visit- 
ing Stillwater,  but  he  permitted  the  existence  of  this  affidavit, 
and  a  copy  of  the  talk  with  Messrs.  Seymour,  Butts  and  Marsh 
to  make  a  visit  to  Stillwater  through  a  local  friend.  At  first 
they  stood  "pat"  and  said  Mr.  Gilfillan  could  publish  the  report 
if  he  wanted  to.  After  consultations,  however,  it  dawned  upon 
the  Stillwater  proposed  bolters  that  they  were  on  dangerous 
ground.  Butts  was  postmaster;  Sabin  was  United  States  sen- 
ator; Blaine  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  ardently  sup- 
ported by  Senator  Sabin,  and  at  that  time  his  election  was 
thought  to  be  certain.  Mr.  Butts  wished  to  retain  his  postmas- 
tership,  and  Mr.  Sabin  wished  to  retain  his  political  standing  in 
the  party  as  well  as  with  Mr.  Blaine,  who  was  supposed  to  be 
the  coming  president.     Consequently  if  Mr.  Sabin's  own  county 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  277 

went  in  favor  of  a  Democratic  member  of  Congress,  when  the 
county  was  normally  Republican  he  (Sabin)  would  be'  very 
largely  held  responsible  for  results.  Under  such  circumstances, 
too,  Mr.  Butts  could  not  have  hoped  for  a  reappointment  as  post- 
master. When  this  situation  had  filtered  through  the  minds  of 
that  crowd  they  became  very  desirous  of  carrying  Washington 
county  for  Mr.  Gilfillan,  instead  of  for  the  Democratic  nominee. 
Mr.  Gilfillan  assured  them  that  the  information  he  had  obtained 
would  not  be  published  in  the  campaign,  but  he  also  assured  them 
that  if  Washington  county  went  against  him  at  the  election  the 
valuable  information  he  had  obtained  would  be  published  to  the 
world  in  the  Pioneer  Press  the  next  day  after  election. 

It  is  questionable  whether  any  shrewder  political  work  was 
ever  done  in  the  state,  and  withal  there  was  not  the  least  thing 
improper  in  the  whole  transaction  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Gilfillan 
and  his  friends.  Mr.  Gilfillan  had  simply  secured  statements 
from  the  mouths  of  the  conspirators  themselves  which  told  of  the 
plot,  and  it  was  within  their  power  to  carry  out  the  plot  or  to 
abandon  it.  The  latter  course  was  what  they  vigorously  decided 
to  do,  and  the  result  was  that  Washington  county  gave  Mr.  Gil- 
fillan nearly  i,ooo  majority,  or,  to  be  exact,  932.  The  fateful 
document  was  accordingly  never  published,  and  the  first  real 
publicity  given  to  its  ever  having  existed  appears  in  these  pages. 


W^ith  the  exception  of  his  last  defeat  for  Congress,  the  politi- 
cal world  has  been  kind  to  Loren  Fletcher.  Personally,  I  can- 
not say  that  he  is  remarkably  magnetic,  though  a  very  pleasant 
gentleman  to  meet.  But  he  has  had  in  his  time  a  very  winning 
way  in  politics.  He  had  served  five  times  in  the  legislature 
when,  at  the  session  of  1881,  he  concluded  to  be  candidate  for 
speaker.  J.  V.  Daniels  of  Olmstead  county  and  A.  C.  Dunn  of 
Faribault  county  were  candidates  against  him.  They  were  both 
from  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  and  Fletcher  and  his  friends 
concluded  they  would  so  divide  the  strength  from  that  section 
that  it  would  be  an  easy  victory.  Daniels  and  Dunn  realized 
the  situation,  and  the  Sunday  preceding  the  caucus,  which  was 


278  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

held  Monday  night,  Jan.  3,  1881,  Daniels  withdrew  in  favor  of 
Dunn.  To  almost  anyone  else  save  "your  Uncle  Loren''  this 
would  have  been  an  omen  of  sure  defeat;  but  in  his  case  the 
union  of  the  opposition  was  only  an  inspiration  for  redoubled 
effort.  When  the  caucus  met  J.  V.  Daniels  was  selected  as 
chairman,  S.  B.  Sheardown  of  Winona  placed  Dunn  in 
nomination.  A.  C.  Hicks  of  Minneapolis  performed  a  similar 
office  for  Fletcher.  While  there  were  89  straight  and  two 
Greenback  Republicans  in  the  house,  but  82  were  present  in  the 
caucus  at  the  outset,  making  42  necessary  for  a  choice.  On  the 
informal  ballot  Fletcher  received  53  and  Dunn  29.  On  the  for- 
mal ballot  the  vote  was  increased,  Fletcher  receiving  64  to  20 
for  Dunn. 

As  an  indication  of  the  worthlessness  of  political  promises,  I 
quote  the  following  comment  from  the  Pioneer  Press  of  the  next 
morning  after  the  caucus : 

Nothing  better  illustrates  the  uncertainty  of  political  expectations, 
than  the  result  of  the  contest  for  speakership  in  the  Republican  legis- 
lative caucus  last  night.  There  are  91  Republicans  in  the  House,  but 
only  81  were  at  first  present.  The  friends  of  Dunn  claimed  47  pledged 
votes,  allowing  27  pledged  to  Fletcher  and  17  to  Daniels.  Fletcher, 
on  the  other  hand,  claimed  51  votes,  giving  Dunn  29.  This  was  in  fact 
the  actual  result  of  the  first  informal  ballot,  except  that  an  additional 
member  arrived,  casting  his  vote  for  Fletcher. 

Everyone  understands  that  in  all  such  contests  the  politicians 
give  two  or  three  pledges.  In  fact,  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  cheerful 
and  versatile  liar  if  you  are  in  politics  to  win.  The  rival  candi- 
dates understand  this  perfectly,  and  know  that  somebody  will  be 
sold  out;  but  with  the  sanguine  temperament  which  always 
characterizes  a  candidate  for  office,  each  candidate  thinks  that 
the  promise  will  be  kept  to  him  and  broken  to  the  other  fellows. 
Of  course,  he  is  sometimes  right,  and  then  again  sometimes  he 
is  not.  This  accounts  for  many  poHtical  results,  and  the  heart- 
burnings which  follow  out  of  these  various  contests. 


OBSERVATION   FORTY-ONE. 


The  Election  of  Hon.  W.  D.  Washburn  to  the  Senate  and 
His  Defeat  of  Hon.   D.  M.  Sabin. 


When  the  legislature  met  in  1889  there  was  a  red-hot  fight 
on  for  the  United  States  senatorship.  D.  M.  Sabin's  first  term 
was  expiring,  and  W.  D.  Washburn  was  his  principal  com- 
petitor. The  contest  began  with  the  beginning  of  the  session 
by  a  fight  on  the  speakership.  C.  H.  Graves,  of  Duluth,  was 
the  candidate  for  speaker  of  the  Sabin  forces,  and  D.  F.  Mor- 
gan, of  Albert  Lea,  the  candidate  for  the  Washburn  forces. 
Both  candidates  and  their  friends  persistently  denied  that  they 
represented  the  senatorship,  because  they  felt  that  they  wished 
to  have  their  contest  independent  of  the  greater  one.  Neverthe- 
less, that  was  the  situation,  and,  deny  it  all  they  please,  they 
could  not  blind  the  eyes  of  the  public.  The  night  before  the 
legislature  met,  the  Republicans  held  a  caucus  upon  the  speak- 
ership. There  were  86  present,  necessary  to  a  choice  44. 
There  was  only  one  ballot,  which  resulted :  Graves  50,  Mor- 
gan 36. 

This  added  to  the  confidence  of  the  Sabin  forces,  and  corre- 
spondingly depressed  Washburn  and  his  friends.  Washburn 
got  up  a  caucus  of  his  own,  confined  entirely  to  his  friends, 
at  which  he  had  35  present.  As  there  were  125  Republicans 
in  the  Legislature,  a  caucus  of  35  was  not  very  encouraging. 
Albeit  among  the  35  were  many  of  the  leading  Republican 
politicians  in  the  state,  so  that  that  caucus  really  counted  more 
than  it  represented  numerically. 

Of  course  it  would  not  do  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  be  a  can- 
didate for  anything  without  having  his  old-time  enemy,  Mr. 
Donnelly,  in  the  field,  and  he  was  there.     He  announced  him- 

(279) 


280  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

self  as  the  candidate  for  the  Senate  representing  the  Farm- 
ers Alliance.  I  do  not  think  Mr.  Donnelly  had  the  slightest 
idea  he  could  win,  but  he  wanted  to  do  something  to  defeat 
Washburn.  His  wise  policy  would  have  been  to  make  an 
alliance  with  Sabin  rather  than  have  gone  off  as  a  candidate 
for  himself.  But  his  desire  for  political  life  would  not  per- 
mit this,  and  the  consequence  was  that  he  was  a  full-fledged 
candidate  to  the  end.  He  hardly  had  a  sufficient  following 
for  a  caucus,  but  he  managed  to  have  a  State  Farmers  Alli- 
ance annual  meeting  just  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of 
the  Legislature,  and  that  annual  meeting  unanimously  en- 
dorsed him  for  Senator. 

There  was  the  usual  talk  about  caucus  or  no  caucus.  The 
Pioneer  Press  was  urgently  advocating  a  caucus,  and  citing 
the  disruption  of  six  years  before,  which  had  elected  Sabin, 
as  a  reason  for  holding  a  caucus  this  time  to  bring  the  party 
together. 

It  was  finally  decided  by  the  Washburn-Sabin  forces  to 
have  a  caucus  to  nominate  a  Senator.  The  caucus  was  formal- 
ly held  on  the  evening  of  January  17th.  By  agreement  among 
the  aspirants  it  was  arranged  that  there  should  be  no  pre- 
liminary contest  for  chairman.  Neither  side  wished  to  show 
its  hand  prematurely.  By  mutual  agreement,  Mr.  M.  J.  Dan- 
iels, a  very  fair  man,  was  selected  to  preside.  After  the  usual 
preliminaries  of  organization,  Hon.  C.  B.  Buckman  nominat- 
ed Mr.  Sabin,  and  A.  T.  Stebbins,  of  Rochester,  and  W.  G. 
Ward,  of  Waseca,  seconded  the  nomination.  D.  F.  Morgan, 
of  Albert  Lea,  nominated  Mr.  Washburn,  and  C.  R.  Davis, 
Representatives  Crossfield,  Forbes  and  Smith,  seconded  the 
nomination.  Mr.  Hompe,  of  Fergus  Falls,  brought  up  the 
rear  of  the  procession  by  nominating  Donnelly.  The  vote 
was  a  secret  ballot  by  roll-call ;  as  each  man's  name  was  call- 
ed he  responded  by  dropping  his  ballot  in  a  hat.  Before  the 
roll-call  began.  Senator  Daniels  announced  that  121  were  pres- 
ent, and  that  61  would  be  necessary  for  a  choice.  The  first 
ballot  was  allowed  to  be  informal,  without  any  motion  to  that 
effect,  and  it  stood:  Washburn  52,  Sabin  43,  Donnelly  15, 
Nelson  7,  Start,  2,  Cole  i,  Strait  i.    That  vote  was  quite  de- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  281 

pressing  to  the  Sabin  forces,  but  the  caucus  went  on  and  took 
three  more  ballots. 

First.  Second  Third. 

Washburn  58  56  62 

Sabin 46  55  54 

Donnelly   lo  5  4 

Nelson   3  2 

Start  2  3  2 

Cole 2  I 

When  Washburn  lost  2  on  the  second  ballot  and  Sabin 
gained  g  on  the  same  ballot  everybody  thought  Sabin  was 
the  winner,  and  there  was  great  jubilation  among  Sabin's 
friends,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  caucus,  but  the  third 
and  last  ballot  told  another  story.  Both  Washburn  and  Sabin 
were  present  at  the  capitol  where  the  caucus  was  held,  and 
both  were  brought  into  the  caucus — Washburn  to  rejoice  and 
Sabin  to  mourn.  Sabin  made  a  very  manly  speech,  showing 
as  little  disappointment  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  show 
under  the  circumstances.  He  claimed  that  he  had  68  votes 
positively  pledged,  and  I  personally  know  that  this  was  true. 
Still  the  highest  vote  he  received  was  13  less  than  was  prom- 
ised.    But  that  is  nothing  unusual  in  politics. 

Of  course  after  the  caucus  adjourned  there  was  the  usual 
jubilation.  The  Merchants  Hotel,  which  was  the  headquart- 
ers of  both  candidates  at  that  time,  was  packed  with  a  seeth- 
ing mass  of  humanity,  which  almost  made  the  walls  of  the 
spacious  corridors  bulge  outwards.  But  everybody  was  hap- 
py— except  those  who  were  unhappy. 

In  the  Senate  the  next  day,  Senator  W.  G.  Ward  sprung 
quite  a  sensation  by  offering  the  following: 

Whereas,  Charges  of  wholesale  bribery  in  a  caucus  contest  for  the 
position  of  United  States  senator  from  the  State  of  Minnesota  are  made 
by  divers  citizens  of  said  state;  and, 

Whereas,  Evidence,  voluntarily  presented  by  members  and  citizens 
indicate  that  large  sums  of  money  were  corruptly  used  to  influence 
the  votes  of  members  of  the  legislature  of  Minnesota  in  the  caucus  for 
United  States  senator,  held  on  Thursday  evening,  January  17,  1889; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  members  of  this  senate  be 
appointed  by  the  president  of  the  senate  to  investigate  the  charges  and 
rumors  of  bribery  and  corruption. 


282  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

No  notice  of  debate  was  given,  and  the  preamble  and  reso- 
lution were  immediately  passed.  The  chair  appointed  Sena- 
tors Ward,  Edwards  and  Pope  as  members  of  the  committee. 

Senator  Ward  was  an  ardent  Sabin  man  and  a  strong  op- 
ponent of  Washburn,  and  his  resolution  was  intended  to  be 
aimed  at  Washburn.  In  interviews  Sabin  disclaimed  having 
any  knowledge  of  or  sympathy  with  the  movement.  There 
was  doubtless  some  ground  for  the  charges,  and  while  no  one 
supposes  that  either  Washburn  or  Sabin  personally  did  any 
corrupt  act  in  the  matter,  it  is  well  understood  in  politics  that 
the  principals  do  not  do  that  kind  of  business  themselves.  If 
was  the  general  feeling  at  the  time  that  if  there  had  been  any- 
thing of  that  kind  done,  both  candidates  were  tarred  with  the 
same  stick. 

The  next  day  the  House  passed  a  similar  resolution  order- 
ing an  investigation  and  appointed  a  committee  of  seven  rep- 
resentatives to  investigate.  Mf.  Ward  promptly  called  his 
committee  together,  and  employed  W.  W.  Erwin,  the  famous 
criminal  lawyer,  as  counsel.'  Senator  Edwards,  who  was  one 
of  the  Washburn  leaders,  refused  to  proceed  without  counsel 
for  his  side  as  well,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  controversy  C. 
D.  O'Brien  was  employed  by  Senator  Edwards  to  represent 
the  Washburn  side  of  the  matter. 

The  investigation  proceeded  but  without  developing  much 
more  than  the  idle  talk  of  the  hotel  lobbies,  which  as  a  rule  is 
largely  falsehood,  inspired  by  copious  draughts  of  the  flowing 
bowl. 

The  object  of  the  investigation  was  evidently  to  lay  the 
groundwork  for  a  bolt  from  the  caucus,  and  the  question  of 
a  bolt  was  openly  discussed.  It  is  to  Senator  Sabin's  credit 
to  say  that  he  did  not  encourage  any  such  proceeding.  If  he 
had  it  is  quite  likely  there  would  have  been  a  bolt.  But  he 
was  man  enough  to  admit  that  he  had  been  defeated  and  was 
ready  to  submit.  The  result  of  the  investigation  brought 
about  one  unusual  matter.  Under  the  law  of  Congress  the 
vote  was  to  be  taken  in  the  respective  houses  the  following 
Tuesday,  and  it  was  quite  a  short  time  for  the  committee  to 
make  its  investigation  and  report.    The  consequence  was  that 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  283 

•on  Tuesday  evening  the  Senate  met  in  secret  session  and  had 
the  official  reporter,  Mr.  George  N.  Hillman,  of  St.  Paul,  read 
the  testimony  from  his  stenographic  notes,  he  not  having  had 
time  to  transcribe  them.  This  occupied  all  the  evening,  and 
after  the  reading  of  the  testimony  a  debate  followed  in  the 
Senate  as  to  what  should  be  done  about  it.  The  committee 
made  no  recommendation,  leaving  each  Senator  to  decide  for 
himself  what  he  thought  about  it.  The  result  of  all  this  was 
that  the  Senate  decided,  about  midnight,  to  proceed  to  vote 
for  United  States  senator.  On  that  vote  Washburn  received 
24  votes,  E.  M.  Wilson  3 ;  15  were  present  who  refused  to  vote, 
and  5  were  absent.  Of  the  15  refusing  to  vote,  Crandall, 
Dodge  and  Truax  were  Republicans ;  the  other  12  were  Demo- 
<;rats.  C.  B.  Buckman,  who  had  been  Sabin's  leader  in  the 
Legislature,  had  been  reflected  on,  not  particularly  in  the  tes- 
timony, but  in  the  common  street  talk ;  and  prior  to  taking  the 
vote  the  Senate  passed  the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  senate  hereby  express  their 
confidence  in  the  honor  and  integrity  of  our  honored  colleague,  C.  B. 
Buckman,  and  resent  all  imputations  growing  out  of  the  recent  bribery 
investigation  reflecting  upon  his  good  name." 

The  House  committee  did  business  a  little  better  than  the 
Senate,  as  they  presented  a  formal  report,  which  concluded  as 
follows : 

We  take  pleasure  in  reporting  that  we  find  no  evidence  that  any 
member  of  the  legislature  has  been  connected  with  any  attempt  to  bribe, 
or  corrupt  any  other  member,  or  that  any  member  has  been  paid  or 
received  any  consideration  for  his  vote  at  said  caucus. 

(Signed)  E.  SEVATSON, 
J.   M.  DIMENT, 
A.  T.  STEBBINS, 
F.  C.  STEVENS, 
JOHN  B.  HOMPE, 
JOHN   DAY   SMITH, 
F.  E.  SEARLE. 

The  House  then  proceeded  to  vote,  and  their  vote  stood: 
Washburn  80,  Durant  (Dem.)  9,  Start  8,  Wilson  2,  Clapp  i. 
While  Mr.  Washburn  had  received  a  majority  of  the  votes 
in  the  House  he  had  not  received  a  majority  in  the  Senate,  and 


284  ^  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

consequently  a  vote  in  joint  convention  was  required  the  next 
day.  At  that  time  the  vote  stood  as  follows:  Washburn  107, 
Durant  20,  Start  9,  Wilson  2,  Bowen  i,  Clapp  i,  J.  P.  Rea,  i. 
Of  course  this  settled  the  whole  matter  and  Washburn  was 
declared  duly  elected.  The  bribery  investigation  blew  over 
in  a  short  time,  and  has  long  since  been  entirely  forgotten.  I 
only  reproduce  it  now  because  it  is  history. 

In  an  authorized  interview  after  the  election  was  completed, 
Mr.  Sabin  said  this : 

I  am  entirely  serene  and  not  in  the  least  soreheaded.  The  campaign 
we  have  run  against  the  combined  interests  of  Minneapolis  influences 
and  capital,  with  all  of  its  ramifications,  and  the  old  Indian  ring  of  St. 
Paul,  is  to  my  mind  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  healthy  ever  con- 
ducted.    I  am  simply  amazed  at  the  close  shave  of  success  we  had. 

Speaking  of  Senator  Buckman  he  said  this : 

"Senator  Buckman  is  a  high-toned  gentleman  and  faithful  adherent. 
He  is  my  friend  and  has  been  through  this  and  other  contests,  and  I 
honor  him  for  it.     He  has  my  most  hearty  thanks  for  his  loyalty." 

Washburn  proved  to  be,  like  Senator  Sabin,  a  one-term 
Senator,  as  is  more  fully  explained  in  another  chapter.  Mr. 
Sabin's  financial  fortunes  had  become  badly  shattered,  partly 
by  the  attention  which  he  gave  to  politics.  He  was,  however, 
a  very  resolute  and  hopeful  man,  and  on  retiring  from  the  Sen- 
ate took  up  the  business  end  of  existence  with  great  hopes 
of  recuperating  his  fortune,  and  of  at  some  time  again  enter- 
ing political  life.  To  some  extent  he  recuperated  in  busi- 
ness. He  had  large  iron  mining  operations  and  finally  built 
a  logging  railroad  in  Wisconsin,  which  bid  fair  at  one  time 
to  place  him  upon  his  business  feet.  But  death  came  in  the 
midst  of  his  plans ;  and  it  always  seemed  to  me  that  after  the 
political  and  business  calamities  which  befel  him  death  must 
have  been  a  rather  welcome  visitor.  He  died  in  Chicago,  and 
was  buried  at  his  old  home,  in  Stillwater. 

To  show  the  mutations  of  human  life,  it  can  be  said  that 
the  attendance  at  his  funeral  was  probably  not  one-fourth  the 
number  of  those  who  were  daily  gathered  under  his  banner 
at  the  Merchants  Hotel  for  nearly  a  month  prior  to  the  Legis- 
lative contest.  Still,  so  wags  the  world — especially  the  po- 
litical world. 


OBSERVATION  FORTY-TWO. 


Knute  Nelson's  Contest  With  Kindred  and  His  Success. 


The  following  is  the  opening  paragraph  of  a  telegram  I 
sent  my  paper,  the  St.  Paul  Globe,  from  Detroit,  Minn.,  on 
the  I2th  of  July,  1882 : 

Hell  reigneth.  The  Lord  be  praised.  If  the  religious  sentiments 
of  these  phrases  seem  to  be  mixed  I  can  assure  you  that  it  corresponds 
to  the  political  situation  in  the  Fifth  district. 

That  was  the  famous  day  when  the  double-headed  conven- 
tion was  held  at  Detroit  and  evolved  Knute  Nelson  and  C.  F. 
Kindred  as  Republican  candidates  for  Congress.  The  Fifth 
district  was  a  monster  territorially  and  in  number  of  counties, 
having  28,  as  follows : 

Aitkin,  Benton,  Becker,  Beltrami,  Big  Stone,  Carleton,  Cass,  Cook, 
Crow  Wing,  Clay,  Douglas,  Grant,  Itasca,  Kittson,  Lake,  Marshall, 
Morrison,  Mille  Lacs,  Otter  Tail,  Pope,  Polk,  Stearns,  Stevens,  St. 
Louis,  Traverse,  Todd,  Wadena  and  Wilkin. 

It  was  the  first  election  since  the  Fifth  district  had  been 
constructed,  and  the  rivalry  for  the  nomination  was  intense. 
The  leading  candidates  were  Knute  Nelson,  of  Alexandria, 
and  C.  F.  Kindred,  of  Brainerd,  though  C.  A.  Oilman,  of  St. 
Cloud,  and  C.  H.  Graves,  of  Duluth,  were  in  the  field  as  well. 
Mr.  Kindred  was  wealthy,  and  he  spared  no  expense  in  ma- 
terializing his  boom.  Kindred  clubs  were  formed,  brass  bands 
were  hired,  printed  matter  was  sent  out,  and  sufficient  para- 
phernalia gathered  to  run  a  national  campaign.     The  Kindred 

(285) 


286  H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

forces  went  into  the  work  with  the  enthusiasm  born  of  youth* 
and  inexperience,  while  the  Nelson  forces  stolidly  relied  upon 
his  strength  among  his  countrymen  to  carry  him  through. 

At  first  the  county  conventions  called  to  send  delegates 
to  the  district  convention  at  Detroit  were  conducted  with  some 
degree  of  fairness,  though  in  every  case  the  contest  would  be 
a  sharp  one.  After  one  or  two  county  conventions  had  split 
and  sent  double  delegates,  a  spirit  of  recklessness  broke  out,, 
and  whichever  side  rightfully  had  control  of  the  county  con- 
vention the  other  proceeded  to  make  an  excuse  for  a  split  and 
send  a  contending  delegation. 

There  was  absolutely  no  attempt  to  be  fair  in  this  contest 
for  the  Congressional  nomination.  This  statement  applies  to 
both  the  Nelson  and  the  Kindred  forces,  but  a  good  deal  more 
to  the  Kindred  than  to  the  Nelson  men,  because  Nelson  was 
really  stronger,  and  had  a  more  substantial  backing  than  Kin- 
dred. Kindred  in  reality  had  but  little  backing  but  his  money, 
and  it  was  the  deliberate  plan  whenever  Nelson  had  carried 
a  county  for  the  Kindred  men  to  come  in  and  hold  another 
convention,  appointing  a  double  delegation.  Of  course  this 
bore  the  usual  fruit  of  a  split  in  the  convention,  and  if  the 
Scandinavian  element  had  not  been  so  enormously  strong  in 
Northern  Minnesota  it  would  have  resulted  in  Knute  Nelson's 
defeat,  as  well  as  Kindred's.  As  it  was,  Nelson  proved  invin- 
cible, and  not  only  won  in  that  campaign,  but  went  on  to  win 
in  the  future,  until  he  had  achieved  national  renown. 

In  some  cases  an  extra  county  convention  was  held  with- 
out any  pretense  of  authority,  and  it  was  very  evident  that 
Nelson  and  Kindred,  or  their  friends,  intended  to  make  a 
double  district  convention.  The  result  was  that  when  the  dis- 
trict convention  was  due  to  meet,  there  were  only  i8  out  of 
28  counties  which  could  lay  any  claim  to  being  ''regular.'*^ 
When  the  Nelson  and  Kindred  forces  separated  and  held  two 
conventions  there  were  2a  counties  represented  in  the  Nelson 
convention  and  23  in  the  Kindred  department.  Here  was  an 
aggregate  of  delegates  from  43  counties  in  a  district  which 
contained  but  28.     The  contests  made  the  excess. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  287 

The  call  for  the  convention  directed  it  to  assemble  at  Bow- 
man's hall,  in  Detroit,  Minn.,  at  i  p.  m.,  on  the  I2th  of  July. 
The  interest  and  excitement  was  immense,  and  all  signs  point- 
ed to  a  bloody  riot  as  the  result  rather  than  to  a  harmonious 
convention.  The  delegates  and  the  contestants  aggregated 
125,  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  there  were  between 
three  and  four  hundred  outsiders  present,  as  friends  of  the 
respective  candidates.  The  little  town  was  fairly  wild,  and  I 
venture  to  say  the  five  saloons  jiever  did  so  big  a  business  be- 
fore nor  since. 

As  usual  the  contestants  began  sparring  for  "regularity." 
The  first  point  was  to  secure  the  temporary  chairman,  in  or- 
der to  capture  the  committee  on  credentials.  It  is  usual  for 
the  chairman  of  the  district  committee  to  call  the  convention 
to  order.  Geo.  H.  Johnson,  of  Detroit,  was  the  chairman,  and 
though  he  professed  friendship  for  Nelson,  he  was,  in  reality, 
a  Kindred  man.  There  were  nine  members  of  the  commit- 
tee present,  and  finding  that  they  could  not  a^^e  on  any  plan 
of  organization,  the  Nelson  men  on  the  committV^e,  by  a  vote 
of  five,  removed  Johnson  as  chairman  and  appointed  Lieut.- 
Gov.  Barto,  of  Stearns,  in  his  place.  They  considered  three 
plans  of  organization :  Admitting  only  uncontested  delegates, 
admitting  all  and  let  them  fight  it  out  in  convention,  admitting 
those  from  counties  which  the  chairman  of  the  county  com- 
mittee would  certify  were  "regular."  The  Nelson  men  on 
the  committee  insisted  on  absolutely  naming  the  delegates 
who  should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  hall,  but  this  Johnson 
would  not  permit,  and  so  it  was  a  fight  from  the  start.  De- 
troit was  a  red-hot  Kindred  town,  and  the  sheriff  swore  in 
30  deputies,  mostly,  perhaps  all,  favorable  to  Kindred.  The 
hall  would  not  contain  the  crowd,  and  the  sheriff  and  his  dep- 
uties were  on  hand  to  prevent  any  but  delegates  entering. 
The  Nelson  men  had  erected  a  tent  near  the  town,  and  there 
they  gathered  to  march  to  the  hall.  The  Kindred  men,  to 
guard  against  accidents,  had  smuggled  a  force  into  the  hall  at 
II  a.  m.,  and  they  had  lunch  sent  in  and  camped  there.  When 
the  Nelson  men  marched  in  a  body  from  the  tent  to  the  hall 
they  were   astonished  to  find   all  the   front  seats   occupied. 


288  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

There  was  great  disturbance  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  A  good 
many  Kindred  delegates  were  still  on  the  outside  and  all  of  the 
Nelson  men.  A  Kindred  and  a  Nelson  man  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  and  identified  their  respective  delegates,  and  the 
sheriffs  would  only  allow  those  to  go  up  who  were  vouched 
for.  The  early  camping  in  the  hall  of  the  Kindred  men  gave 
them  a  good  many  outsiders  who  had  come  to  fight,  if  neces- 
sary, and  in  a  square  battle,  which  was  expected,  the  Nelson 
men  would  have  been  thrashed.  I  think  the  fact  that  the  Kin- 
dred men  had  by  their  device,  gotten  their  forces  in  the  hall 
in  such  numbers  was  a  peace  measure.  There  were  probably 
a  hundred  men  present  in  the  hall  with  pistols  in  their  pock- 
ets, and  it  was  a  wonder  some  one  did  not  fire  the  first  shot. 
If  any  one  had,  it  would  have  been  gory  before  the  last  one 
was  fired. 

Johnson  refused  to  be  deposed  from  the  chairmanship  be- 
cause he  was  appointed  by  the  State  Central  Committee,  and 
Capt.  H.  A.  Qv£,tle,  Secretary  of  the  State  Central  Commit- 
tee, was  there  to  certify  to  the  fact.  It  was  1:15  when  John- 
son struggled  through  the  crowd  to  get  to  the  platform,  and 
Barto  was  close  behind.  When  they  reached  the  platform 
Johnson  announced  that  they  had  decided  to  clear  the  hall, 
and  then  he  and  Barto  would  issue  tickets.  Barto  said  they 
would  give  Nelson  and  Kindred  100  each  and  Oilman  and 
Graves  26  each.  The  Kindred  men  objected  on  the  ground 
that  Oilman  and  Craves  were  really  for  Nelson,  and  hence 
it  would  give  the  Nelson  men  the  largest  number.  The  Kin- 
dred men  were  satisfied  as  it  was.  While  the  controversy  was 
going  on,  a  Kindred  man  nominated  E.  O.  Holmes,  of  De- 
troit, for  chairman.  Johnson  put  the  motion  and  declared  it 
carried.  Holmes  bounded  to  the  platform  in  a  twinkling  and 
started  his  convention.  The  Nelson  men  were  a  little  behind, 
but  not  much.  Some  Nelson  man  made  a  motion  to  elect  S. 
G.  Comstock,  of  Moorhead,  temporary  chairman,  and  Barto 
put  the  motion  so  quickly  that  Comstock  leaped  to  the  plat- 
form and  began  the  Nelson  convention  only  a  few  seconds 
behind  the  Kindred.  Then  there  was  pandemonium  let  loose. 
Every  one  seemed  to  be  yelling  at  the  same  time.     Holmes  and 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  289 

Comstock  stood  side  by  side  and  their  respective  adherents 
would  rush  to  the  front  and  make  motions  which  the  chair- 
man would  declare  carried.  After  about  five  minutes  of  this 
scene,  ex-Sheriflf  Mertz,  of  Brainerd,  a  very  resolute  man  and 
a  warm  friend  of  Kindred,  jumped  on  the  platform  and,  grab- 
bing Comstock,  tried  to  pull  him  oflf,  saying,  *'You  have  no 
business  here."  It  was  scarcely  a  second  before  30  or  40  men 
were  on  the  stage  to  aid  Comstock  and  Mertz  respectively, 
and  they  were  a  good  deal  hustled  about.  Comstock  stood 
his  ground  well  and  resisted  being  dragged  off  the  platform, 
but  did  not  strike  a  blow.  The  crowd  had  overturned  the 
reporters'  table  and  we  had  mounted  an  extemporized  table 
to  get  a  view  of  the  fight.  As  the  excitement  was  at  its  high- 
est, crash  went  our  table  and  we  were  all  tumbled  promiscuous- 
ly to  the  floor.  I  believe  that  little  accident  was  providential. 
It  made  a  laugh,  and  laughter  and  anger  are  not  close  friends. 
It  also  diverted  attention  for  a  moment  and  by  the  time  we 
had  picked  ourselves  up  from  the  floor,  the  sheriff,  with  10 
or  12  deputies,  was  on  the  platform  commanding  the  peace 
and  hustling  men  off  the  stage.  Partial  quiet  was  secured, 
when  Johnson  declared  that  he  would  recognize  but  one  chair- 
man, and  that  was  Holmes.  Barto,  in  reply,  insisted  that  he 
(Barto)  was  chairman  of  the  district  committee  by  a  vote  of 
five  out  of  nine.  Capt.  Castle's  statement  was  then  made,  as 
already  mentioned,  and  the  Kindred  men  yelled. 

Johnson  then  proceeded  to  read  the  call  for  the  conven- 
tion, a  proceeding  which  should  have  been  done  before  the 
chairman  was  selected.  He  was  nearly  through  when  it  oc- 
curred to  Barto  to  read  it  also,  and  he  began  on  the  same  docu- 
ment. And  then  a  fresh  riot  sprung  up.  Not  a  word  of  the 
reading  could  be  heard,  and  eight  or  ten  were  trying  to  make 
speeches  in  the  midst  of  the  yells.  Johnson  finally  shouted 
an  order  to  clear  the  stage  of  every  one  but  the  committee 
and  the  reporters.  That  would  have  removed  both  Holmes 
and  Comstock.  He  said  he  had  hired  the  hall  and  would  have 
it  cleared.  On  this  announcement  a  Nelson  man  shouted: 
^T  move  the  convention  adjourn  to  the  tent  on  the  prairie." 
Comstock  put  the  motion  and  declared  it  carried.     Johnson 

19 


290  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  shouting  in  the  meantime  that  the  ''regular"  convention 
would  be  held  in  that  hall  and  invited  every  one  to  remain. 
Comstock,  notwithstanding  he  had  declared  the  convention 
adjourned  to  the  tent,  did  not  want  to  lose  any  points  on 
''regularity."  He  declined  to  go  unless  he  was  put  out,  So 
that  he  would  have  valid  grounds  for  holding  a  convention 
somewhere  else.  As  all  the  deputy  sheriffs  were  Kindred 
men,  one  of  them  accommodated  him  by  walking  with  him 
to  the  head  of  the  stairs.  H.  L.  Gordon,  of  Minneapolis  (not 
a  delegate  or  even  a  resident  of  the  district)  mounted  a  chair 
and  urged  the  Nelson,  Graves  knd  Gilman  men  to  leave.  A 
deputy  sheriff  grabbed  him  and  escorted  him  to  the  door  as  a 
disturber  of  the  peace. 

The  doors  had  been  guarded  both  from  inside  and  out  to 
keep  the  crowd  from  rushing  in,  and  the  stairway  was  so 
packed  the  Nelson  men  had  great  difficulty  in  leaving.  Fi- 
nally Mr.  Bowman,  the  owner  of  the  hall,  got  the  doors  open 
and  spiked  them,  so  that  if  there  was  another  row  upstairs 
there  would  be  a  chance  to  run.  But  the  Kindred  men  re- 
mained in  the  hall,  while  the  Nelson  forces  met  at  the  tent, 
and  two  love  feasts  were  set  in  motion. 

Nelson  may  be  said  to  have  entered  prominent  political 
life  direct  from  the  tented  field.  The  prairie  breezes  which 
fanned  his  brow  that  sultry  July  afternoon  have  been  a  kind 
harbinger  to  him  and  wafted  him  onward  and  upward  un- 
til he  reached  the  Senate.  The  only  object  of  holding  the 
convention  in  the  tent  must  have  been  to  put  the  crowd  in  a 
hot  box,  for  it  was  literally  a  case  of  "standing  room  only," 
there  being  no  seats  or  tables  within,  and  it  might  as  well  have 
been  held  on  the  open  prairie.  But  there  was  harmony,  be- 
cause all  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  Nelson  were  attending 
the  convention  at  Bowman's  hall. 

S.  G.  Comstock  brought  his  right  to  be  chairman  at  the 
hall  to  the  tent.  It  was  a  case  where  a  man  took  up  his  rank 
and  walked.  He  accordingly  called  the  tent  convention  to  or- 
der and  proceeded  at  once  to  prove  that  that  was  the  "regu- 
lar" convention  and  any  other  would  be  a  fraud.  He  pre- 
sented the  report  of  the  district  committee,  which  the  chair- 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  291 

man,  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Detroit,  would  not  recognize.  That  re- 
port disclosed  that  the  district  committee  had  acted  as  a  com- 
mittee of  credentials  as  well,  and  had  named  delegates  from 
20  counties  who  were  entitled  to  seats,  leaving  eight  coun- 
ties still  to  be  heard  from.  This  report  was  promptly  adopted, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  the  platform  was  reported.  It  was 
about  the  usual  style  of  platforms,  except  that  it  was  bitter 
in  its  denunciation  of  Kindred  and  his  followers,  accusing 
them  of  corruption.  Of  course,  it  claimed  to  be  the  only  orig- 
inal, blown  in  the  bottle,  "regular"  convention. 

When  it  came  to  nominations,  Halvor  Steenerson,  of  Crook- 
ston,  sent  up  Nelson's  balloon;  C.  A.  Oilman  was  inflated  by 
Gov.  Barto,  while  Graves  was  depicted  in  glowing  colors 
by  D.  G.  Cash,  of  Duluth.  Gilman  and  Graves  had  been  can- 
didates on  the  theory  that  Nelson  and  Kindred  would  so  di- 
vide the  delegates  as  to  make  a  third  man  a  necessity.  They 
had  allied  themselves  to  the  Nelson  wing  in  the  hope  that  if 
it  proved  that  Nelson  could  not  obtain  it,  his  strength  would 
go  to  them.  Gilman  and  Graves  had  antagonized  Kindred 
as  sharply  as  had  Nelson,  and  when  the  district  convention 
split  their  forces  had  no  other  recourse  save  adhering  to  the 
Nelson  wing.  As  a  consequence,  it  was  nonsense  to  present 
their  names  at  the  tent  convention,  as  that  crowd  was  over- 
whelmingly for  Nelson.  But  they  went  through  the  motions 
and  took  an  informal  ballot,  which  stood :  Nelson,  44 ;  Graves, 
7;  Gilman,  10.  The  formal  ballot  gave  it  to  Nelson  by  44 
votes  to  15  for  the  other  two  combined.  Nelson  responded 
with  an  acceptance  speech  which  pledged  his  loyalty  and 
"regularity"  to  the  party,  while  insisting  that  the  Kindred 
crowd  represented  everything  which  was  bad,  corrupt  and 
"irregular."  Gilman,  Graves,  H.  L.  Gordon,  of  Minneapolis, 
and  Albert  Scheffer,  of  St.  Paul,  all  made  ratification  meet- 
ing speeches,  and  the  Nelson  campaign  was  launched. 

While  all  this  was  going  on  in  the  tent,  the  Kindred  men 
were  working  right  along  with  their  convention  at  Bowman's 
hall.  The  temporary,  chairman,  Mr.  Holmes,  kept  shouting, 
while  the  Nelson  men  were  leaving,  that  the  only  "regular" 
convention  would  be  in  that  hall,  but  blood  was  up  and  no  one 


292  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

halted.  When  the  Nelson  supporters  had  vanished  the  Kin- 
dred convention  went  ahead  more  harmoniously,  if  anything, 
than  the  tent  affair,  because  they  did  not  have  any  other  can- 
didate than  Kindred,  even  nominally.  Geo.  H.  Johnson,  the 
chairman  of  the  district  committee,  was  made  permanent 
chairman.  Johnson's  speech  on  taking  the  chair  was  some- 
thing unique.  He  declared  that  he  had  been  a  supporter  of 
Nelson  and  had  prepared  a  speech  in  his  favor.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded with  quite  a  eulogy  of  Nelson  as  a  soldier  and  citizen, 
but  now  that  Nelson  had  ''bolted,"  as  the  speaker  claimed, 
his  party  loyalty  compelled  him  to  stand  by  Kindred.  That 
was  cool,  as  he  had  been  for  Kindred  all  of  the  time.  He 
then  proceeded  to  claim  that  he  had  prepared  to  so  rule  as  to 
admit  36  Kindred  delegates  and  42  for  the  field  against  him, 
and  that  Comstock  and  Barto  had  originally  agreed  to  this, 
but  had  finally  attempted  to  depose  him  from  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  committee,  because  he  would  not  consent  to  have 
the  committee  pass  upon  the  credentials  of  the  delegates,  and 
actually  name  those  entitled  to  seats. 

Of  course  it  took  but  a  few  minutes  to  have  the  commit- 
tee on  credentials  report  the  Kindred  delegates  as  contest- 
ants and  all  were  admitted,  and  if  an}^  delegation  was  not 
full  a  proxy  was  supplied.  The  resolutions  did  not  even  take 
the  trouble  to  declare  loyalty  to  the  Republican  party,  as  the 
Nelson  platform  did.  They  were  entirely  devoted  to  claim- 
ing "regularity"  and  denouncing  the  other  side  as  ''dishonora- 
ble, despicable  and  most  infamous."  C.  B.  Sleeper,  of  Brain- 
erd,  named  Kindred  in  a  glowing  speech,  and  no  other  name 
was  presented.  The  roll  call  gave  him  64  votes — all  that  were 
cast.  Here  were  64  votes  in  a  convention  which  if  full  would 
have  had  78.  Nelson  had  61  in  his  convention,  which  gave 
an  aggregate  of  125,  or  a  surplus  of  47  more  than  there  would 
have  been  if  only  one  convention  had  been  held.  Kindred 
was  brought  in  and  accepted,  deprecating  the  trouble  and  the 
bringing  in  of  the  nationality  question. 

The  evening  in  that  little  town  was  quite  a  wild  one. 
Kindred  had  brought  two  or  three  brass  bands,  and  they  head- 
ed a  procession  which  marched  about  the  streets  yelling  like 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  293 

madmen.  In  fact,  they  were  very  mad  men.  In  order  to  turn 
an  honest  penny  the  ladies  of  Detroit  had  opened  a  hall  to 
give  refreshments  for  the  benefit  of  the  village  cemetery  asso- 
ciation. Kindred  felt  so  good  that  he  gave  $ioo  outright  to 
the  association,  and  the  boys  on  his  side  said  that  they  wanted 
to  finish  up  the  cemetery  to  have  a  proper  place  for  Nelson 
when  they  got  through  with  him  in  the  fall.  As  Kindred  fur- 
nished the  political  corpse  in  November,  he  was  wise  in  dedi- 
cating a  cemetery  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign. 

There  were  hot  discussions  between  the  partisans  until 
the  trains  left,  but  no  absolute  violence,  though  the  air  was  fre- 
quently split  with  yells  and  emphatic  adjectives. 

The  question  of  which  was  the  "regular"  convention  was 
the  great  controversy  throughout  the  campaign.  It  was  very 
hard  to  ascertain  the  truth,  for  both  the  Nelson  and  Kin- 
dred men  had  resorted  to  all  kinds  of  tricks  known  to  the  po- 
litical trade  to  capture  delegates.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  out- 
side of  leaving  the  hall  at  Detroit  where  the  convention  was 
called  to  meet.  Nelson  had  the  best  of  the  "regularity,"  but 
with  that  thrown  in  Kindred's  favor,  it  gave  him  the  "regu- 
lar" advantage.  In  1868  almost  the  entire  excuse  for  call- 
ing Donnelly  a  bolter  was  because  he  was  nominated  for  Con- 
gress at  a  diflferent  place  from  the  hall  designated  in  the  call. 
The  only  way  the  Nelson  men  could  have  been  more  regu- 
lar was  to  have  remained  and  had  a  fight,  but  as  a  stray  bul- 
let might  have  hit  a  newspaper  man  I  was  always  willing  to 
waive  the  irregularity  of  their  departure  from  the  hall.  As 
the  Kindred  men,  by  the  coup  d'etat  of  getting  possession  of 
the  hall  at  an  early  hour,  had  two  to  one  on  the  inside  of  the 
building,  they  could  have  thrown  the  Nelson  men  out  bodily, 
and  that  would  have  made  it  "regular"  for  them  to  have  gone 
to  another  place  for  their  convention,  on  the  ground  that  they 
had  been  physically  assaulted.  I  give  this  as  a  legal  ruling  on 
political  regularity  and  as  an  inducement  to  bring  on  a  fight, 
if  such  a  condition  of  affairs  ever  exists  again.  The  Repub- 
lican state  committee  sat  in  judgment  on  the  "regularity"  and 
decided  that  Nelson  was  the  "regular"  nominee.  How  circum- 
stances alter  cases  and  how  worthless  such  decisions  are  was 


294  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

illustrated  by  the  decision  against  Donnelly  in  1868  (which  I 
have  already  noted)  for  doing  exactly  what  was  approved  in 
Nelson's  case  in  1882. 

Next  to  the  "regularity"  problem,  the  point  to  be  settled 
was  what  would  the  Democrats  do?  The  Nelson  men  did  not 
feel  that  they  had  much  hope  from  the  Democratic  votes,  and 
were  anxious  to  have  a  Democrat  nominated.  The  Kindred 
men  thought  they  could  secure  a  good  many  Democrats,  and 
were  equally  anxious  to  have  no  Democratic  nominee.  It 
seemed  almost  certain  that  without  a  Democratic  noihinee, 
Nelson  would  be  defeated.  The  Democrats  at  first  seemed 
inclined  to  give  Kindred  the  chance,  but  they  finally  held  a 
convention,  Sept.  7,  at  Fergus  Falls.  E.  P.  Barnum,  of 
Stearns  county,  Robert  Miller,  of  Otter  Tail,  and  R.  C.  Moore, 
of  Stearns,  were  candidates.  There  was  no  excitement  at  the 
convention,  and  the  attendance  was  not  large.  One  ballot  did 
the  business,  standing:  Barnum,  49;  Miller,  18;  Moore,  9; 
scattering,  10,  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  the  Kindred 
people  to  get  Barnum  to  withdraw.  All  of  these  efforts  (and 
some  of  these  were  very  liberal)  were  unavailing,  and  Bar- 
num remained  his  party  standard  bearer,  though  certain 
of  defeat. 

The  canvass  was  intensely  personal  and  exciting.  Kin- 
dred spent  money  lavishly  and  the  Nelson  forces  had  a  good 
deal.  Kindred  had  workers  in  every  county,  doing  nothing 
else  from  the  time  he  was  nominated,  in  July,  until  Novem- 
ber. In  many  cases  where  newspapers  were  hostile  he  es- 
tablished new  ones.  His  army  of  clerks  and  his  literary 
bureau  were  expensive.  Brass  bands,  torchlight  processions, 
special  trains,  etc.,  were  the  common  occurrence,  and  when 
you  come  to  spread  this  out  over  28  big  counties,  many  of 
them  having  to  be  canvassed  by  private  conveyance  to  make 
up  the  poll  of  the  district,  the  expense  amounted  to  something 
enormous.  Well  informed  men  claimed  at  the  time  that  Kin- 
dred expended  $225,000.  This  may  be  too  large,  but  I  think 
it  is  extremely  conservative  to  say  that  he  put  in  $150,000. 
Minnesota  is  not  likely  to  see  the  counterpart  of  that  fight 
again.     Mr.  Kindred  is  now  a  resident  of  Philadelphia.     I  hear 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  295 

he  has  been  lucky  in  some  speculations  and  has  largely,  per- 
haps entirely,  recovered  his  fortune,  which  was  so  sadly  shat- 
tered by  that  campaign.  He  was  the  most  liberal  and  ener- 
getic political  plunger  the  state  has  ever  seen. 

The  vote  in  November,  electing  Nelson,  stood:  Nelson, 
16,956;  Kindred,  12,238;  Barnum,  6,248.  Two  years  before, 
in  the  presidential  campaign,  which  always  brings  out  the 
vote,  those  same  counties  gave  Garfield  (Rep.)  15,442,  and 
Hancock  (Dem.)  8,405.  In  1881,  just  one  year  previous, 
the  Republican  vote  in  the  district  for  governor  was  13,831 
and  6,595  Democratic.  This  shows  that  Barnum*  was  strong 
with  the  Democrats  and  held  well  up  to  his  party  vote,  but 
the  Republicans  exceeded  their  presidential  vote  of  1880  by 
nearly  14,000,  and  their  gubernatorial  vote  of  1881,  the  pre- 
vious year,  by  nearly  16,000.  As  Barnum  only  fell  behind 
Hancock's  vote  about  2,000,  and  was  only  347  below  the 
Democratic  vote  of  '81,  the  great  influx  of  voters  must  have 
been  Republicans.  In  John  Hay's  famous  pgem,  "Little 
Breeches,"  he  tells  of  a  little  boy  being  transported  from  the 
embrace  of  the  deadly  winter  storms  to  the  warm  sheep  fold, 
and  says: 

"How  did  he  get  thar?  Angels." 

I  am  inclined  to  attribute  the  sudden  irruption  of  Repub- 
lican voters  in  that  district  to  the  same  divine  agency  and 
let  it  stand  at  that.  But  no  one  disputes  that  Knute  Nelson's 
original  election  to  Congress  was  a  wave  from  the  North  sea. 
We  used  to  sing,  "In  the  North  sea  lived  a  whale."  Things 
have  changed.  He  seems  to  have  migrated  to  Minnesota 
and  brought  his  whole  family. 


OBSERVATION  FORTY-THREE. 


The  Great  Contest  in  the  First  District  in  1880. 


Among  the  many  exciting  political  scrimmages  in  the  state, 
one  of  the  notable  ones  was  the  Congressional  contest  in  the 
First  district  in  1880.  The  district  was  both  numerically  and 
territorially  large,  comprising  the  following  counties: 

Blue  Earth,  Cottonwood,  Dodge,  Faribault,  Fillmore,  Free- 
born, Houston,  Jackson,  Martin,  Mower,  Murray,  Nobles,  Olm- 
sted, Pipestone,  Rock,  Steele,  Waseca,  Watonwan  and  Winona. 

These  counties  were  the  most  populous  of  any  in  the  state, 
outside  of  the  cities,  and  contained  over  40,000  voters.  Mark 
H.  Bunnell  of  Owatonna,  was  serving  his  fifth  term  and  loth 
year  in  Congress,  and  a  good  many  Republicans  thought  it 
time  that  he  gave  way  before  old  age  had  incapacitated  many 
able  men  in  the  district  from  filling  the  place.  As  usual  with 
such  long  terms  of  service,  Bunnell  had  built  up  a  machine,  and 
the  outsiders  considered  it  a  good  time  to  smash  it.  They  made 
a  gallant  fight  in  that  direction. 

The  plan  as  deliberately  formulated  by  the  anti-Bunnell 
forces  was  to  spring  as  many  "favorite  sons"  from  different 
counties  as  possible.  It  was  only  in  this  manner  that  some  of  the 
counties  could  be  carried  against  Bunnell.  It  was  to  this  end 
that  Freeborn  county  instructed  for  J.  A.  Lovely,  Fillmore  for 
H.  S.  Barrett,  Houston  for  James  O'Brien,  Faribault  for  J.  B. 
Wakefield,  Waseca  for  W.  G.  Ward  and  Blue  Earth  for  E.  P. 
Freeman.  It  was  the  field  against  Bunnell,  none  of  the  candi- 
dates being  very  anxious  to  secure  the  nomination  personally 
but  all  intensely  interested  in  having  a  new  deal.  The  conven- 
tion which  was  due  to  consist  of  125  delegates,  was  called  to 

(296) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  297 

meet  at  Ward's  Opera  House,  in  Waseca,  July  7,  1880,  and  it 
was  there  in  force.  Both  sides  held  caucuses  the  night  before 
the  convention  and  hugged  the  delusive  phantom  of  hope  for  a 
"regular  majority"  on  their  side.  Each  resolved  to  war  to  the 
death. 

With  the  usual  tricks  of  the  trade,  both  sides  had  indulged 
in  securing  contesting  delegations.  The  anti-Dunnell  forces 
had  really  been  beaten  in  Jackson  county,  but  they  had  a  dele- 
gation at  Waseca  from  there,  just  the  same.  Mower  county  was 
also  a  double-header,  but  there  was  a  little  basis  for  a  contest  in 
that  county.  The  Judge  Sherman  Page  riot  was  at  its  zenith 
and  no  convention  could  be  held  in  that  county  without  a  row. 
The  Page  forces  were  anti-Dunnell  and,  of  course,  the  anti- 
Page  men  were  for  Dunnell.  Freeborn  county  was  overwhelm- 
ingly for  Lovely,  or  anybody  to  beat  Dunnell,  but  on  the  old 
theory  of  fighting  the  devil  with  fire  the  Dunnell  men  deliber- 
ately made  up  a  bogus  delegation  from  that  county.  They  did 
not  pretend  that  it  had  any  basis  but  it  was  simply  presented  to 
shut  Freeborn  county  out  on  any  preliminary  organization,  on 
the  ground  that  the  committee  on  credentials  must  first  deter- 
mine which  were  the  legitimate  delegates.  When  the  conven- 
tion split  in  twain  the  Dunnellites  did  not  even  have  the  cheek 
to  admit  their  bogus  Freeborn  delegates,  though  there  was  no 
one  to  object.  Laying  aside  Freeborn  county  and  leaving  only 
Jackson  and  Mower  contested,  the  anti-Dunnell  forces  had  56 
to  Dunnell's  54  on  a  preliminary  organization.  With  Freeborn 
excluded,  on  account  of  a  contest,  the  Dunnell  forces  would 
be  in  control,  and  get  the  preliminary  machinery — which  was 
equivalent  to  success. 

When  the  crucial  hour  arrived  W.  Holt,  chairman  of  the  dis- 
trict committee,  mounted  the  platform  and  called  the  conven- 
tion to  order.  He  announced  that  Freeborn,  Mower  and  Jack- 
son counties,  having  contested  delegations,  would  not  be  allowed 
to  vote,  until  the  committee  on  credentials  had  reported.  He 
also  stated  that  the  district  committee  had  instructed  him  to 
call  E^rle  S.  Youmans,  of  Winona,  to  the  chair  as  temporary 
presiding  officer.  Holt  had  scarcely  begun  to  make  his 
announcement  before   S.   P.   Childs,  of   Faribault   county,  was 


298  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

standing  on  the  floor  in  front  of  him,  yelHng  "Mr.  Chairman," 
"Mr.  Chairman,"  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  When  Sam  is  in  con- 
dition he  can  yell  "right  smart"  and  he  did  his  biggest  on  that 
occasion.  Holt  was  conveniently  deaf  and  blind  for  the  time, 
and  went  right  along  as  though  Childs  did  not  exist.  In  this 
dilemma  Childs  mounted  a  chair  and  nominated  W.  W.  Braden 
of  Filmore  (afterwards  state  auditor)  for  temporary  chairman, 
put  the  vote,  and  amid  the  yells  of  both  factions,  declared  it 
carried.  Braden  and  Youmans  both  reached  the  platform  at 
about  the  same  moment  and,  amid  the  greatest  excitement  and 
tumult,  the  two  conventions,  in  one  room,  were  inaugurated. 
D.  F.  Morgan  of  Albert  Lea  was  chosen  secretary  by  the  antis, 
and  E.  C.  Huntington  of  the  Windom  Reporter,  secretary  for 
the  Dunnellites.  From  this  time  on  there  was  no  attempt  at 
harmony,  each  side  simply  attempting  to  yell  the  loudest.  The 
antis  had  the  most  lung  power  and  drowned  out  their  own  and 
the  Bunnell  proceedings  as  well.  It  was  an  inspiring  scene 
which  I  much  enjoyed  at  the  time.  The  Bunnell  forces  ranged 
themselves  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  room,  facing  the  plat- 
form, and  the  anti-Bunnell  forces  took  the  left  hand  side.  Bra- 
den and  Morgan  captured  the  only  table  and  chairs  and  both 
sides  went  merrily  along.  The  coolness  and  good  nature  of  the 
respective  chairmen  and  especially  of  Youmans,  probably  pre- 
vented a  physical  encounter,  which  many  times  seemed  likely 
to  occur.  One  blow  on  either  side  would  have  resulted  in 
bloodshed,  but  they  contented  themselves  with  shaking  their 
firsts  at  and  denouncing  each  other. 

The  Bunnell  forces  had  no  delegates  from  Blue  Earth, 
Fairbault,  Freeborn  and  Houston  counties,  and  only  one  from 
Bodge,  while  the  anti-Bunnell  forces  had  no  delegates  from  Cot- 
tonwood, Martin,  Murray,  Nobles,  Olmsted,  Pipestone,  Rock, 
Steele,  Watonwan  and  Winona.  Each  side  had,  of  course,  the 
contested  delegates  of  their  own  faction,  except  that  the  Bun- 
nell men  did  not  have  the  temerity  to  admit  the  Bunnell  men 
from  Freeborn.  B.  F.  Morgan  nominated  J.  A.  Lovely  of  Free- 
born, J.  W.  Wheat  nominated  H.  S.  Barrett  of  Filmore,  S.  P. 
Childs  named  J.  B.  Wakefield  of  Faribault,  and  W.  B.  L.  Col- 
lester  presented  W.  G.  Ward  of  Waseca.  It  took  six  ballots  for 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  299 

the  anti-Dunnell  men  to  agree.  On  the  first  ballot  Barrett  had 
24,  Lovely  15,  Wakefield  2^  and  Ward  7.  After  the  third  ballot 
Wakefield  dropped  out  and  the  vote  stood  on  the  fifth  ballot — 
Barrett  27,  Lovely  14  and  Ward  34.  On  the  sixth  and  last 
ballot  Ward  received  all  the  votes,  75  in  number,  and  was 
declared  the  nominee,  amid  cheers  that  seemed  loud  enough 
to  be  heard  throughout  the  county. 

While  this  was  going  on  the  Bunnell  people  had  also  been 
doing  business.  Ex-Governor  Miller  of  Worthington,  nominated 
Bunnell  in  one  of  his  whooping  speeches.  The  informal  ballot 
stood :  Bunnell  68,  Bassett  3.  The  formal  ballot  was  Bunnell 
djy  Wakefield  i.  Mr.  Youmans  then  announced  that  a  ratifica- 
tion meeting  would  be  held  at  once  on  the  street  in  front  of  the 
hotel  and  the  Bunnell  forces  marched  out,  leaving  the  Ward 
men  in  possession  of  the  opera  house.  They  proceeded  to  ratify 
in  the  hall,  making  bitter  speeches,  denouncing  the  Bunnell 
forces  as  bolters,  while  on  the  street  the  Bunnell  men  were  sing- 
ing the  same  song  relative  to  the  Ward  fores.  Both  factions 
endeavored  to  excel  each  other  by  resolving  in  favor  of  the 
Republican  national  ticket  and  pledging  their  loyal  support  to 
the  party  in  general. 

The  Ward  forces  at  once  began  setting  up  the  pins  for 
"regularity."  They  wired  a  card  to  the  Pioneer  Press  that  night 
signed  by  W.  W.  Braden,  J.  H.  Baker,  S.  P.  Childs,  H.  S. 
Bassett,  G.  C.  Chamberlain,  J.  B.  Wakefield,  E.  P.  Freeman,  E. 
Thompson,  G.  C.  Burt,  J.  A.  Lovely  and  O.  C.  Peterson,  setting 
forth,  among  other  things,  that  they  had  71  regularly  elected 
delegates  and  64  uncontested,  which  was  a  majority  of  the  con- 
vention. On  the  1 8th  of  July,  Ward  wrote  to  Bunnell  proposing 
that  they  both  withdraw  and  a  new  convention  be  held,  called 
by  the  Republican  state  central  committee,  or  the  two  district 
committees,  the  names  of  neither  of  them  to  be  allowed  to  go 
before  the  new  convention.  This  would  have  accomplished  all 
the  antis  were  playing  for,  the  defeat  of  Bunnell,  and  though  a 
loud  sentiment  went  up  in  favor  of  this  plan  it  could  not  be 
expected  to  meet  Bunnell's  approval.  Bunnell  replied  to  Ward 
saying  he  had  referred  the  matter  to  his  committee.  The  com- 
mittee met  at  Owatonna  on  the  27th  of  July  and  rejected  Ward's 


300  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

proposal,  but  offered  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  Republican 
state  central  committee,  to  determine  which  one  should  remain 
in  the  field.  Ward  in  turn  referred  this  to  his  committee.  His 
committee  met  at  Albert  Lea,  August  5th  and  rejected  the  offer 
of  Bunnell's  committee,  renewing  Ward's  original  offer  with  the 
proviso  that  the  new  convention  be  held  not  later  than  October 
7th.  They  gave  Bunnell  ten  days  to  accept.  Bunnell  replied 
on  August  1 6th  rejecting  all  overtures,  saying,  "to  the  forum 
of  the  people  I  will  go.''     And  the  fight  was  on  to  a  finish. 

Meantime  the  Bemocrats  had  been  quiet  but  interested 
spectators.  Here  was  their  seeming  opportunity.  In  1878  Bun- 
nell had  received  18,613  votes  in  the  district  and  Meighen  (Peo- 
ple's and  Bemocratic)  12,845.  It  certainly  looked  as  though,  with 
the  natural  increase  of  the  presidential  year,  added  to  Meighen's 
vote,  the  Bemocrats  would  win.  They  nominated  Hon.  H.  R. 
Wells  of  Preston,  and  went  into  the  fight  with  vim.  The  Repub- 
licans, outside  of  the  district,  and  many  in  the  district,  thought 
the  fight  was  lost.  While  Ward  made  an  active  campaign, 
Bunnell  surpassed  himself.  It  was  the  fight  of  his  life  and  he 
made  it  desperately  and  gallantly.  He  spoke  night  and  day  for 
the  remainder  of  the  canvass  and  but  for  a  vigorous  constitution 
would  have  gone  to  his  grave  instead  of  to  Congress.  He  had 
written  a  leter  to  Postmaster  Harwood  of  Austin  prior  to  the 
convention. asking  him  to  "sound  Jones"  relative  to  his  nomina- 
tion, referring  to  Ira  Jones,  a  prominent  politician  of  the  town. 
An  Austin  paper  also  started  the  story  that  Bunnell  was  plan- 
ning to  build  a  residence  at  Owatonna  and  when  the  back  pay 
or  so-called  "salary  grab"  passed  Congress,  he  telegraphed  his 
architect,  "go  to  hauling  sand."  This  was  entirely  untrue,  but 
is  was  "good  enough  Morgan"  for  the  campaign  and  it  is  believed 
by  many  to  this  day.  "Sound  Jones"  and  "go  to  hauling  sand" 
were  the  watchwords  of  the  anti-Bunnell  campaign.  The  result 
absolutely  surprised  Bunnell  himself,  as  the  vote  stood : 

Bunnell 22,392 

Ward 7,656 

Wells  13768 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  301 

If  the  election  had  taken  place  in  August  instead  of  Novem- 
ber I  believe  Ward  would  have  polled  a  larger  vote  than  Dun- 
nell,  but  the  last  six  weeks  of  the  campaign  he  lost  headway. 
The  state  committee  and  all  the  machinery  of  the  party  was 
thrown  against  him.  As  election  day  approached  it  became  evi- 
dent that  it  was  Bunnell  or  a  Democrat.  This  added  to  Bun- 
nell's tremendous  canvass,  and  the  fact  that  Ward,  though 
one  of  the  most  generous,  whole-souled  and  honorable  of  men, 
was  no  match  for  Bunnell  on  the  stump,  made  the  result  as  it 
was.  But  the  next  time  it  was  Milo  White  and  not  Bunnell  who 
was  the  Republican  nominee.  The  medicine  of  1880  had  worked. 
I  regret  to  say  that  since  this  book  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the 
printer  Bunnell  has  been  called  to  a  higher  tribunal  than  the 
Republican  party  of  the  First  district.  Mr.  Ward  preceded  him 
some  years  ago  and  the  First  district  is  now  harmonious  under 
Mr.  Tawney's  leadership.  Time  and  death  smoothes  away  the 
animosities  of  political  life  and  when  it  is  all  over  we  say  "Cui 
Bono." 


OBSERVATION  FORTY-FOUR. 


A  Series  of  Gubernatorial  Campaigns. 


Hon.  Knute  Nelson  had  very  plain  sailing  for  the  governor- 
ship in  1892,  ex-Lieut.  Gov.  G.  S.  Ives  of  St.  Peter  and  ex-Gov. 
A.  R.  McGill  of  St.  Paul  were  talked  of  as  candidates  against 
Nelson  and  both  secured  some  delegates,  but  both  withdrew 
before  the  convention  met.  The  convention  met  in  St.  Paul, 
July  28,  1892,  with  709  delegates.  There  was  no  contest  over 
preliminaries  and  no  contest  when  it  came  to  nomination  for 
governor.  Hon.  J.  A.  Tawney  presented  Knute  Nelson's  name 
and  Frank  Davis  of  MinneapoHs  seconded  it.  No  one  else  was 
named  and  Nelson  was  nominated  by  rising  vote  by  acclama- 
tion. 


The  election  of  Governor  Nelson  to  the  United  States  senate 
in  1893,  promoted  Hon.  D.  M.  Clough  to  the  governorship,  he 
being  lieutenant  governor  at  the  time.  Clough  served  through 
the  remainder  of  Governor  Nelson's  term,  which  was  two  years 
lacking  one  month,  and  then  was  a  candidate  himself  before  the 
convention  in  1896  for  governor.  He  had  considerable  opposi- 
tion for  the  nomination,  but  it  did  not  prove  serious,  and  won 
on  the  first  ballot  by  860  votes,  the  other  candidates  receiving 
as  follows: 

Van  Sant 1 58 

J.  L.  Gibbs 95 

Moses  Clapp 30 

Gibbs  was  placated  by  giving  him  the  lieutenant-governor- 
ship after  he  had  been  defeated  for  governor. 

(802) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  303 

This  was  Van  Sant's  first  appearance  as  a  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. He  was  called  upon  for  a  speech  after  Clough  was  nom- 
inated, and,  among  other  things,  said : 

I  feel  it  an  honor  to  have  been  mentioned  for  governor  in  this  con- 
vention, but  I  beg  to  assure  you  I  was  not  running  for  governor.  I  was 
only  walking. 


During  the  campaign  for  the  nomination  Clough  encoun- 
tered strenuous  opposition  in  his  own  city — Minneapolis.  There 
are  more  "good"  people  to  the  square  inch  in  Minneapolis  than 
any  town  of  its  size  I  ever  knew.  These  "good"  people  couldn't 
approve  the  bluff  ways  of  the  rough  and  ready  lumberman,  Dave 
Clough.  Led  by  the  Journal,  a  good  deal  of  opposition  was 
organized.  On  January  30,  1896,  the  Journal  published  under 
a  large  headline  "Opposed  to  Clough"  this  pronunciamento. 

"Believing  that  the  best  interests  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 
and  of  the  Republican  party  demand  that  the  governor  of  the 
state  shall  be  the  choice  of  the  people,  and  shall  be  selected  out- 
side of  the  political  ring  which  has  controlled  our  state  politics 
for  the  past  eight  years,  and  which  now  seeks  to  nominate  for 
that  office  one  of  its  members ; 

"We,  the  undersigned,  agree  to  serve  as  members  of  a  com- 
mittee of  one  hundred  to  conduct  a  campaign  in  Hennepin 
county  to  aid  in  defeating  such  nomination,  and  to  accomplish 
that  end  we  will  favor  the  nomination  of  any  good  Republican. 

"We  invite  all  Republicans  who  are  opposed  to  the  longer 
continuance  of  machine  rule  in  the  state  to  join  us  with  the  under- 
standing that  this  movement  is  not  in  the  interest  of  any  candi- 
date." 

This  was  followed  by  the  fac-simile  signatures  of  107  citizens, 
among  whom  were  W.  D.  Washburn,  W.  D.  Hale,  Geo.  A.  Pills- 
bury,  E.  G.  Potter,  E.  E.  Smith,  D.  F.  Morgan,  Gustave  Thieden, 
etc. 

Many  of  the  signers  were  not  very  prominent  in  public  or 
political  affairs,  and  the  movement  apparently  fell  through  by 
its  own  size  and  weight.   No  full  meeting  of  the  committee  was 


304  H.   P.   HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

ever  held.  When  the  state  convention  met  six  months  later 
the  committee  of  lOO  were  a  minus  quantity,  but  Hennepin 
county  was  there  with  a  solid  delegation  for  Dave  Clough. 

It  was  just  an  ebullition  of  "goodness"  on  general  principles 
and  proved  that  virtue  does  not  always  have  its  own  reward. 

John  Lind  was  the  Democratic  nominee,  and  in  spite  of  his 
great  strength  among  his  own  nationality,  the  Swedes,  Clough 
was  elected,  the  vote  in  the  state  standing:  Clough  165,906, 
Lind  162,254.  Clough  not  only  carried  the  state,  but  carried 
his  own  county  in  spite  of  the  one  hundred  "good"  people.  His 
majority  was  not  large,  but  it  was  sufficient  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses. 

In  1898  Clough  was  through  with  political  life,  and  William 
H.  Eustis,  also  of  Minneapolis,  took  his  place  as  a  candidate  for 
the  succession.  The  Republican  convention  met  on  the  30th 
of  June,  1898.  There  were  1,175  in  the  convention,  and  it  took 
two  ballots  to  determine  the  result.  Van  Sant  loomed  up  very 
formidably,  and  Judge  Collins  also  developed  considerable 
strength.  The  first  ballot  stood,  Eustis  529,  Van  Sant  401,  Col- 
lins 248.  The  second  ballot  was,  Eustis  555,  Van  Sant  205,  Col- 
lins 228.  Eustis  was  introduced  to  the  convention  as  the  next 
governor  and  received  with  great  enthusiasm.  Everyone  con- 
sidered his  election  absolutely  sure  at  that  time.  After  he  had 
made  his  acceptance  speech.  Van  Sant,  who  was  present,  was 
called  upon  to  respond  as  one  of  the  defeated  candidates,  and  he 
did  so  in  a  most  manly  way.  I  quote  what  he  said  as  an  object 
lesson.     These  were  his  words  on  that  occasion : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

As  I  sat  on  the  platform  listening  to  the  speech  of  my  successful  rival, 
the  thought  occurred  to  me  that  if  it  seemed  "funeral-like"  to  him  while 
waiting  at  the  Windsor  for  the  result  of  your  deliberations,  just  imagine 
my  feelings!  He  won!  I  lost!  I  had  hoped  to  return  to  my  home 
occupying  a  front  seat  on  the  band  wagon;  instead,  I  go  back  in  the 
hoarse.  Again,  imagine  my  embarrassment!  I  prepared  a  speech  to 
deliver  to  this  convention,  but  alas,  it  would  not  be  appropriate  for  this 
occasion.  Besides,  I  have  been  for  six  months  talking  to  the  Republi- 
cans of  Minnesota,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  done  much  good.  Why 
should  I  speak  more.  But,  my  friends  and  fellow-workers  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Republican  party,  I  want  to  say  right  here  and  now  that 
from  a  full  heart  I  thank  the  four  hundred  true  and  tried  men  who  stood 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  305 

by  me  through  thick  and  thin  and  to  the  last,  and  have  only  the  kindliest 
feeling  toward  those  who  opposed  my  nomination.  There  was  but  one 
trouble — I  did  not  have  soldiers  enough.  Let  me  assure  you  that  there 
are  no  sore  spots  on  me.  I  most  earnestly  congratulate  Mr.  Eustis;  he 
fairly  won  the  nomination.  Like  him  I,  too,  thought  I  heard  a  voice  two 
years  ago.  I  was  mistaken.  He  heard  the  call;  it  remains  with  us  to 
make  the  election  sure.  We  are  all  Republicans,  but  no  Republican  will 
carry  the  flag  farther  into  the  enemy's  camp  during  the  coming  fall  than 
I  will  unless  he  have  a  stronger  constitution  or  greater  ability.  This  will 
be  a  Republican  year,  a  glorious  year  of  sunshine;  already  the  warming 
glow  of  prosperity  is  assured.  The  promise  of  McKinley  and  prosperity 
is  a  fact,  and  business  conditions  are  so  rapidly  and  permanently  improv- 
ing that  our  country  is  destined  soon  to  become  and  remain  the  greatest 
on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Again  I  congratulate  you,  Mr.  Eustis,  not  only  upon  your  nomina- 
tion but  upon  the  glorious  victory  that  awaits  you  in  November;  and 
to  the  end  that  it  may  be  as  nearly  unanimous  as  possible  let  us  all  return 
to  our  homes  and  go  zealously  to  work  burying  our  hatchets,  if  we  have 
any,  so  deeply  that  they  will  never  again  be  resurrected.  Personally,  I 
am  satisfied,  and  am  ready  for  the  conflict.  I  have  been  carefully  taking 
account  of  my  political  assets;  I  find  that  all  I  have  remaining  is  my  post 
office  address.  If  you  desire  my  services  in  the  coming  campaign  all  you 
will  have  to  do  is  to  address  me  at  Winona.  I  will  fight  just  as  hard  as 
a  private  soldier  and  in  the  trenches  as  if  your  leader  and  in  command. 
I  believe  in  the  grand  old  party,  its  success  brings  prosperity  to  all  the 
people.  No  disappointment,  however  great,  can  cause  me  to  sulk  in  my 
tent;  I  weigh  two  hundred  pounds,  and  every  ounce  of  it  is  for  my  party 
and  its  candidates. 

Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  in  closing  let  me  assure  you  that  there 
is  some  compensation  even  in  defeat.  I  shall  go  home  to  family  and 
friends  to  rest  and  to  quiet,  while  Mr.  Eustis  assumes  the  strenuous 
duties  of  campaign  and  office.     The  happier  man  I. 

This  was  as  manly  an  acceptance  of  defeat  as  has  ever 
occurred  in  the  state,  and  I  give  space  to  what  Governor  Van 
Sant  said  in  this  book  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  younger 
politicians  the  wise  way  of  accepting  their  defeats.  Do  not 
nurse  a  common  boil  and  endeavor  to  enlarge  it  into  a  first-class 
carbuncle.  Take  for  your  lesson  the  manly  course  of  Governor 
Van  Sant  on  that  occasion.  A  man  cannot  always  win  in  poli- 
tics, but  if  he  allows  defeat  to  sour  and  embitter  him,  he  can 
always  be  a  sorehead  and  never  again  come  to  the  front.  It  was 
really  Van  Sant's  speech  at  the  time  of  his  defeat  which  made 
him,  later,  governor  of  the  state.     He  received    at    that    time 

20 


306  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

scores  of  pledges  of  support  in  the  future.  Pledges  are  not 
always  honored,  but  in  this  case  they  were.  As  the  result 
proved,  his  defeat  for  the  nomination  was  the  greatest  victory 
which  could  have  come  to  him. 

Eustis  had  for  his  competitor  John  Lind,  and  for  the  first 
time  in  forty  years  in  this  state  the  flag  of  the  Republican  party 
went  down  to  defeat,  the  vote  standing: 

Eustis  111,796 

Lind ' 131,080 

Higgins  (Prohibitionist)  5,299 

Hammond  (Socialist) 1,685 

If  the  two  last  votes  had  been  added  to  Eustis'  vote,  it  would 
not  have  saved  him,  as  Lind  had  a  majority  over  all  of  12,900. 

This  defeat  of  Eustis  was  not  due  to  his  personal  unpopu- 
larity, though  it  was  partly  due  to  bad  management  in  the  cam- 
paign. He  selected  a  state  central  committee  composed  of  able 
•and  loyal  men,  but  largely  inexperienced  in  politics,  with  the 
result  that  his  campaign  was  not  conducted  with  as  much 
shrewdness  as  Republican  campaigns  usually  have  been.  To 
make  a  successful  campaign  a  state  central  committee  must  not 
be  over-scrupulous  as  to  their  methods.  They  must  simply 
make  up  their  minds  that  they  are  out  for  votes  and  follow  the 
advice  of  the  father  to  his  son:  Get  money  if  you  can;  get  it 
honorably  if  possible,  but  get  money.  The  shibboleth  of  the 
state  central  committee  should  be  to  get  all  the  votes  you  can; 
get  them  honorably,  as  far  as  possible,  but  get  the  votes. 

However,  it  was  the  Swede  nationality  which  defeated  Eustis. 

One  of  the  influences  which  aided  in  Eustis'  defeat  was  the 
open  and  strong  opposition  of  Governor  Clough.  Governor 
Clough  was  not  a  man  who  concealed  his  likes  and  dislikes,  and 
he  demonstrated  that  his  dislike  for  Eustis  was  very  great.  When 
it  was  settled  that  Lind  was  elected  governor,  Clough  promptly 
sent  him  this  telegram  of  congratulations : 

Hon.  John  Lind,  New  Ulm;  allow  me  to  congratulate  you  from  the 
very  bottom  of  my  heart.    There  is  still  a  God  in  heaven. 

D.  M.  CLOUGH, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  307 

Mr.  Eustis  took  his  defeat  very  manfully  and  he  too  sent  a 
telegram  to  his  successful  rival,  but  it  read  different  from 
Clough's.     It  was  thus: 

To  Hon.  John  Lind,  New  Ulm: 

Personal  congratulation.  May  your  administration  be  just  and  wise 
and  in  the  highest  interests  of  the  state  and  its  people.  In  the  discharge 
of  these  exalted  duties,  you  will  have  my  cordial  support  in  everything 
that  makes  for  the  public  good. 

W.  H.  EUSTIS. 

The  defeat  of  Eustis  made  the  pathway  clear  for  a  new  deal 
in  1900.  The  Republican  convention  met  in  St.  Paul  on  June 
28th  of  that  year,  and  then  Van  Sant  was  in  his  element. 
Scarcely  any  other  candidate  was  talked  of,  and  when  it  came  to 
the  selection  of  governor  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation  by  a 
rising  vote.  His  speech  of  two  years  previous  had  not  been  for- 
gotten. A  young  man  entering  politics  had  better  turn  back 
and  re-read  this  speech  and  take  it  to  heart  if  he  wishes  to  pros- 
per in  a  political  career.  I  regard  it  as  a  model  method  of 
accepting  defeat.  In  the  campaign  Van  Sant  had  Lind  for  his 
competitor,  it  being  the  third  time  Lind  was  a  candidate.  He 
was  elected  by  the  narrow  margin  of  2,254  votes. 

Governor  Van  Sant  received  the  nomination  for  the  second 
term  without  any  special  opposition.  This  time  Mr.  Lind  refused 
to  be  a  candidate,  and  Mr.  L.  A.  Rosing,  who  had  been  private 
secretary  to  Governor  Lind,  was  substituted  by  the  Democrats 
as  a  candidate.     The  vote  at  the  election  stood: 

Van  Sant 158,878 

Rosing  99,603 

The  Democrats  had  made  such  success  with  Lind  as  a  candi- 
date that  they  did  not  really  expect  to  defeat  Van  Sant  for  a 
second  term,  and  they  were  neither  surprised  nor  disappointed 
with  the  result. 


OBSERVATION    FORTY-FIVE. 


Senator  Clapp's  Election  After  Senator  Davis'  Death — Tom 
Lowry's  Campaign. 


The  death  of  Senator  C.  K.  Davis,  in  November,  1900,  made  it 
necessary  for  the  legislature  to  elect  two  United  States  senators. 
Senator  Nelson's  term  was  about  to  expire,  and  he  was,  of 
course,  naturally  a  candidate  for  re-election,  but  without  opposi- 
tion. The  unexpected  vacancy  caused  by  death  made  things 
different  for  the  short  and  unexpired  term  of  Senator  Davis. 
Governor  Lind,  Democrat,  had  appointed  Charles  A.  Towne  of 
Duluth,  United  States  senator  until  such  time  as  the  legislature 
could  elect,  and  Mr.  Towne  took  his  seat  in  December,  1899, 
pending  the  coming  election. 

Hon.  Moses  E.  Clapp  was  early  an  avowed  candidate  for  the 
short  term  of  the  vacancy,  and  was  very  cordially  supported  by 
a  large  number  of  the  papers  in  the  state.  Robert  G.  Evans  of 
Minneapolis  also  took  the  field,  and  was  the  leading  competitor 
of  Senator  Clapp.  There  were  constant  rumors  of  others  com- 
ing into  the  field,  notably  Thomas  Lowry,  but  there  was  nothing 
absolutely  definite  concerning  Mr.  Lowry  until  January  nth, 
after  the  legislature  was  in  session.  He  then  published  the  fol- 
lowing pronunciamento : 

To  the  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
State  of  Minnesota: 

I  hereby  announce  myself  as  a  candidate  for  United  States  senator 
to  succeed  the  late  Cushman  K.  Davis.  Prominent  citizens  of  St.  Paul 
and  Minneapolis  and  other  parts  of  the  st^te  before  and  after  the  death 
of  Senator  Davis,  urged  me  to  become  a  candidate  to  succeed  him.  I 
declined  to  consider  the  matter  until  his  death  and  burial.    When  this 

(808) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  309 

occured  I  was  in  New  York,  and  while  there,  on  December  3,  1900, 
I  received  the  following  telegram  from  R.  G.  Evans. 

''If  you  have  not  already  decided  concerning  the  senatorship,  I 
should  like  to  talk  with  you  before  you  decide." 

To  this  I  replied  at  once: 

"Telegram  received  on  return  trom  Boston.  Will  see  you  early 
next  week." 

Never  having  had  any  conversation  with  Mr.  Evans  on  the  subject, 
and  thinking  we  were  both  talked  of  as  candidates,  I  concluded  he 
desired  a  conference  with  me  and  probably  other  citizens  representing 
the  business  interests  of  our  city  and  state,  as  to  who  should  be  named 
as  the  candidate  from  Minneapolis.  I  therefore  postponed  considera- 
tion of  the  matter  until  my  return. 

The  day  of  my  arrival,  Monday,  December  loth,  I  called  on  Mr. 
Evans,  who  assured  me  he  had  the  pledges  of  11  out  of  19  Republican 
members  of  the  Hennepin  county  delegation  to  support  him  as  their 
candidate  at  a  caucus  to  be  held  the  following  evening.  Notwithstand- 
ing I  felt  that  Mr.  Evans  had  misled  me  by  his  telegram  and  his  active 
work  in  securing  the  call  for  an  early  caucus  during  my  absence,  I  told 
my  friends  on  the  delegation  I  would  not  go  before  them  as  a  candidate 
at  that  time. 

Mr.  Evans  assured  me  that  none  of  our  congressional  delegates 
would  become  candidates,  and  that  he  had  the  requisite  support  to 
insure  his  election.  I  told  him  I  would  not  exert  myself  in  his  behalf. 
I  also  said  to  him  that  if  at  any  time  it  seemed  to  me  and  my  friends  that 
he  could  not  succeed  I  should  feel  at  liberty  to  take  such  action  as 
seemed  best. 

From  a  careful  review  of  the  situation,  I  am  convinced  Mr.  Evans 
cannot  be  elected.  In  this  I  may  be  mistaken;  but  believing  it,  and 
being  assured  by  many  members  and  by  various  sources  that  I  would 
be  acceptable  in  the  interests  of  Minnesota,  I  offer  myself  as  a  candidate. 

THOMAS  LOWRY. 

Minneapolis,  January  11,  1901. 

The  same  day  Tarns  Bixby  came  out  as  a  candidate,  and  very 
shortly  thereafter  Congressman  James  A.  Tawney  of  Winona 
shied  his  caster  into  the  ring. 

It  always  seemed  to  me  that  Mr.  Lowry  made  a  serious  and 
almost  fatal  mistake  when  he  received  Mr.  Evans'  original  tele- 
gram, that  he  did  not  promptly  respond  by  stating  that  he  was  a 
candidate,  and  also  making  the  announcement  through  the  news- 
papers. It  is  no  disgrace  or  discredit  to  a  man  to  be  a  candidate 
for  the  United  States  senate ;    and,  while  this  may  not  always 


310  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

be  the  rule,  in  my  judgment  it  is  the  best  way  in  politics  in  the 
end  to  be  open  and  above  board.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Lowry  was 
a  good  ways  from  home,  and  did  not  absolutely  know  the  local 
situation.  But  he  knew  he  wanted  to  be  a  candidate,  and  if  he 
had  promptly  declared  himself  he  might  have  stood  a  better 
show.  Of  course,  the  candidacy  of  Mr.  Lowry  really  settled  it 
that  Senator  Clapp  would  be  the  winner,  because  the  old  rule  of 
"a  house  divided  against  itself  must  surely  fall"  has  not  yet 
been  abrogated,  and  the  division  by  Minneapolis  having  two 
candidates,  rendered  it  practically  certain  in  advance  that  both 
would  be  defeated.  There  was  great  confusion  and  commo- 
tion in  the  Evans  ranks  over  Mr.  Lowry's  announcement. 

Mr.  Lowry  opened  liberal  headquarters  at  the  Windsor  Hotel, 
St.  Paul,  and  the  business  men  of  Minneapolis  rallied  quite 
loyally  to  his  support.  During  the  short  time  intervening  before 
the  caucus  they  came  down  by  the  score  every  day  to  demon- 
strate that  Minneapolis  was  not  all  for  Evans.  The  hotel  lob- 
bies, and  all  places  where  politicians  do  congregate,  were  swarm- 
ing with  Mr.  Lowry's  friends  from  Minneapolis.  But  unfortu- 
nately for  him  they  had  no  votes  in  the  legislature,  and  the  large 
majority  of  the  Hennepin  county  delegation  in  the  legis- 
lature were  already  pledged  to  Evans.  The  first  caucus 
was  duly  held  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  January. 
The  first  ballot  stood  Clapp  44,  Evans  53,  Tawney  2^, 
Bixby  II,  Lowry  3,  McCleary  i,  Jepson  i.  Fourteen  ballots 
were  taken  that  evening,  the  caucus  lasting  till  after  midnight, 
amid  great  excitement.  There  was  very  little  change  from  the 
original  ballot,  especially  with  the  leading  candidates.  Clapp 
gained  three  during  the  ballots,  and  closed  with  47.  Evans 
gained  one,  coming  up  to  54,  but  finally  lost  two,  and  closed 
with  52.  The  last  ballot  stood  Clapp  47,  Evans  52,  Tawney  29, 
Bixby  6,  Lowry  3,  McCleary  3.  Lowry  had  held  his  strength 
solid.  After  a  good  deal  of  contention  it  was  decided  to  adjourn, 
this  being  Friday  night,  and  hold  another  caucus  at  2 130  Satur- 
day afternoon.  During  the  remainder  of  the  night  and  all  Sat- 
urday forenoon  nothing  was  thought  of  or  talked  of  in  the  legis- 
lature, on  the  streets,  or  in  the  hotels,  except  the  senatorship. 
There  were  140  Republicans  in  the  legislature,  and  at  the  Satur- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  311 

day  afternoon  caucus  the  roll  call  showed  138  present.  A  care- 
fully concerted  plot  had  been  formed  by  the  Evans  men  to  create 
a  stampede  from  Tawney  to  Evans  and  thus  secure  him  the 
nomination.  Tawney  had  been  induced  to  notify  his  friends 
that  he  would  release  them  from  further  support,  and  this  aided 
the  scheme.  When  the  roll  had  been  called  in  that  Saturday 
afternoon  caucus  the  attempted  stampede  movement  was  sprung. 
Senator  Lord  of  Dodge  arose  and  made  a  neat  speech,  conclud- 
ing with  the  announcement  that  he  wished  to  change  from  Taw- 
ney to  Evans.  Senator  Thompson  of  Fillmore  followed  with  a 
similar  change,  and  Senator  Knatvold  of  Freeborn  county  fol- 
lowed with  a  similar  announcement.  These  were  three  of  the 
leading  senators  in  the  legislature,  and  when  to  their  changes 
were  added  Representatives  Anderson  and  Burns,  making  five  in 
all,  it  looked  as  if  the  stampede  might  be  successful.  The  excite- 
ment was  something  absolutely  intense,  so  intense  that  the  caucus 
was  really  quiet.  But  during  that  quietude  the  Clapp  men  began 
to  get  their  second  wind,  and  then  breaks  from  Tawney  to  Clapp 
began.  One  or  two  dropped  into  the  Clapp  band  wagon  from 
Bixby,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  the  thing  was  all  over.  As 
soon  as  the  failure  to  stampede  for  Evans  became  apparent,  the 
stampede  for  Clapp  became  more  intense,  and,  while  the  roll 
had  been  originally  called  and  the  ballot  stood  almost  exactly 
the  same  as  the  last  ballot  on  the  previous  night,  that  ballot  was 
never  announced.  The  band  wagon  was  in  motion,  and  the 
members  of  the  caucus  could  not  get  on  board  too  fast.  Speaker 
Dovv^ling  was  presiding.  It  required  71  to  nominate.  He  had 
been  voting  for  McCleary,  Jepson  and  others  merely  to  scatter 
his  vote,  but  he  kept  close  watch  of  the  result  as  figured  by  the 
tellers,  with  instructions  to  notify  him  when  Clapp's  vote  had 
reached  70.  This  happened  very  soon  after  the  failure  of  the 
attempted  stampede  for  Evans,  and  when  Clapp  had  70  recorded 
votes  by  the  changes  on  the  tellers'  sheets,  Speaker  Dowling 
arose  and  announced  that  he  wished  to  change  his  vote  to  Clapp. 
That  gave  the  necessary  71,  and  then  pandemonium  broke  out. 
Everything  was  all  over  but  the  fun.  Books  and  papers  went 
flying  in  the  air,  and  men  embraced  each  other,  shook  hands, 
shouted,  jumped  on  chairs  and  desks,  and  yelled  hke  a  pack  of 


312  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

Indians  on  a  massacre  trip.  Amid  all  the  hubub  Sherman  Smith, 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Evans  Minneapolis  forces,  after  repeated 
efforts,  caught  the  attention  of  the  chair  and  moved  to  make 
Senator  Clapp's  nomination  unanimous.  While  this  joyful  ebuli- 
tion  was  in  progress  I  was  seated  at  the  reporters'  table  and 
scribbled  off  the  following  little  verse: 

Moses,  Moses, 
We  are  all  for  Moses; 
Out  they  go,  in  he  goes, 
On  a  bed  of  roses. 

By  the  aid  of  the  other  reporters  we  scribbled  off  25  or  30 
copies  of  this  little  ditty  and  circulated  them  among  the  mem- 
bers. I  took  one  to  Albert  Berg,  who  has  a  voice  like  a  bull 
of  Bashan  (in  fact  he  had  to  pay  excess  baggage  on  his  voice 
to  bring  it  down  to  the  legislature),  and  is  something  of  a  singer 
withal,  and  requested  him  to  lead  in  the  exercises.  I  also  went 
to  Speaker  Dowling  and  asked  him  to  call  upon  Berg  to  sing 
the  verse.  It  was  a  parody  on  the  "Baby"  song  in  "Wang,"  and 
set  to  the  music  of  one  of  the  most  catchy  airs  in  that  comic 
opera.  Dowling  duly  did  his  part  by  calling  upon  Berg  to  sing. 
He  essayed  to  do  so,  but  didn't  catch  the  air  very  well,  and  it  was 
not  a  success. 

Dowling  then  insisted  that  I  should  lead  the  exercises  myself, 
and  when  I  demurred,  with  my  characteristic  modesty,  he 
ordered  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  arrest  me  and  bring  me  to  the 
bar  of  the  house.  Of  course,  I  complied,  and  did  my  part  as  well 
as  I  could  by  leading  the  vocal  exercises  for  10  or  15  minutes. 
Perhaps  the  only  reason  I  escaped  being  mobbed  for  attempting 
to  sing  was  because  the  audience  knew  that  I  was  acting  under 
duress.  So  I  feel  under  lasting  obligations  to  Speaker  Dowling 
for  having  me  formally  arrested.  There  was  nothing  very 
brilliant  or  original  in  this  little  episode,  though  it  was  somewhat 
amusing. 

At  the  national  convention  in  Chicago,  in  1892,  which  nomi- 
nated Grover  Cleveland  for  president,  Samuel  Josephs  was  a 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  313 

member  of  the  Philadelphia  delegation.  He  was  a  little  sawed- 
off,  rotund,  fat,  rosy-cheeked  representative  of  Jerusalem,  and 
he,  too,  parodied  the  "Baby"  song  in  ^'Wang."  His  verse. ran  as 
follows : 

Grover,  Grover, 
Four    years    more    of    Grover; 
Out  they  go,  in  he  goes, 
Then  we'll  be  in  clover. 


The  convention  took  up  his  little  ditty,  much  as  the  caucus 
did,  though  on  a  great  deal  larger  scale.  The  Philadelphia  dele- 
gation would  pick  Josephs  up,  and,  after  throwing  him  up  in  the 
air  three  or  four  times,  place  him  on  a  chair,  give  the  signal  to 
the  band  to  start  the  music,  and  Josephs  would  lead  again  and 
again  in  singing  the  verse.  After  this  began  it  was  repeated 
continually  throughout  the  convention  whenever  there  was  a  lull. 
The  next  day  after  the  matter  originated,  Josephs  had  thousands 
of  the  verse  printed,  so  that  everybody  in  the  convention  had  a 
copy;  and  that  convention  and  audience,  10,000  strong,  would 
rise  up,  with  a  yell  which  almost  lifted  the  roof,  and  sing  this 
verse.  So  that  I  neither  claim  wit  nor  originality  for  sitting  at 
Josephs'  feet  as  a  pupil. 

After  the  election  poor  Josephs  became  a  candidate  for  col- 
lector of  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  He  seemed  to  have  splendid 
endorsements,  and  devoted  months  and  months  to  the  pursuit 
of  the  office.  He  felt  that  he  had  sung  himself  into  a  fat  berth, 
and  was  exceedingly  confident  of  success.  But  he  never  got 
into  the  "clover."  Grover,  evidently,  had  no  music  in  his  soul, 
and  persistently  refused  to  appoint  Josephs  to  that  or  any  other 
position,  and  at  last  the  poor  man  died  absolutely  and  literally  of 
a  broken  heart  at  the  base  ingratitude  of  politics.  His  death  was 
a  political  tragedy. 

In  further  emulation  of  my  Chicago  prototype,  when  the 
absolute  election  of  Senator  Clapp  took  place  in  the  legislature 
the  following  Tuesday,  I  had  several  hundred  copies  of  my  little 
verse  printed,  and  hired  an  orchestra,  placing  them  in  the  gal- 
lery, with  instructions  to  start  the  air  on  a  signal  from  myself. 


314  H.   P.   HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

When  Senator  Clapp  had  been  declared  duly  elected  in  the  joint 
convention,  I  modestly  took  the  speaker's  chair,  and,  seizing 
the  gavel  as  a  wand,  gave  the  signal  to  the  orchestra,  and  away 
we  went  with  the  musical  program.  Everybody  in  the  hall  of 
representatives  had  a  printed  copy  of  the  verse,  and  everybody 
apparently,  members  of  the  legislature,  audience  and  all,  joined 
in  the  singing,  so  that  the  event  was  quite  a  success.  While  the 
committee  were  out  to  find  Senator  Clapp  to  bring  him  in  to 
make  his  acceptance  speech  the  singing  was  continued.  It  was 
suspended  when  Senator  Clapp  arrived  long  enough  to  allow 
him  to  speak,  when  I  again  gave  the  signal  to  the  orchestra  and 
started  the  uproar.  Senator  Clapp  held  a  half-hour  reception 
at  the  foot  of  the  speaker's  desk,  during  which  time  the  singing 
was  continuous.  It  has  sometimes  been  a  question  in  my  mind 
which  was  the  greater  event  on  that  particular  day — the  election 
of  Senator  Clapp  or  the  singing  of  "Moses."  While  it  was  a 
nonsensical  affair  throughout,  it  literally  impressed  the  public 
with  the  idea  that  "Moses"  was  landed  on  a  bed  of  roses,  and 
when  a  man  reaches  that  stage  in  political  life  he  has  about 
arrived  at  the  limit. 

The  actual  vote  in  the  respective  houses  for  senator  stood: 
In  the  senate,  Clapp  43,  Towne  17;  in  the  house,  Clapp  92, 
Towne  21.  The  rest  was  a  mere  matter  of  form,  reading  the 
journal  of  each  house  in  the  joint  convention  the  following  day, 
January  23d,  and  it  was  duly  recorded  that  Hon.  Moses  E.  Clapp 
was  elected  senator  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of 
Senator  C.  K.  Davis.  The  vote  for  Senator  Nelson's  successor 
was  taken  and  recorded  at  the  same  time.  The  Democrats  had 
nominated  Hon.  R.  R.  Nelson,  formerly  United  States  district 
judge,  as  their  candidate,  and  the  vote  in  the  senate  stood: 
Knute  Nelson  42,  Judge  Nelson  18;  in  the  house,  Knute  Nelson 
94,  Judge  Nelson  22. 

There  was  no  caucus  to  nominate  Knute  Nelson,  as  he  had 
no  opposition  whatever,  and  he,  too,  was  "on  a  bed  of  roses" 
without  having  gone  through  the  hubbub  and  excitement  which 
had  befallen  Senator  Clapp.     As  soon  as  Senator  Clapp's  cer- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  315 

tificate  could  be  made  out  he  proceeded  to  Washington  and  took 
his  seat  at  once,  relegating  the  pro  tern  Senator  Towne  to  the 
ranks  of  private  life.  ♦ 

The  three  votes  for  Mr.  Lowry  were  cast  by  Henry  Lee  of 
Anoka,  Frank  S.  Lane  and  J.  W.  Phillips  of  Minneapolis.  It 
vi^as  reported  at  the  time,  and  believed  by  many,  that  Mr.  Lowry 
had  in  reserve  about  40  votes,  but  the  only  ones  that  came  out 
from  under  cover  were  the  three  named,  and  he  was  the  only 
man  who  held  his  strength  from  first  to  last.  They  voted  for 
him  just  to  keep  his  name  in  the  caucus.  The  fact  is,  Mr. 
Lowry  was  in  that  caucus  in  practically  the  position  of  the 
heathen  Chinee  Ah  Sin  (so  graphically  described  by  Bret  Harte), 
who,  in  playing  a  game  of  cards  which  he  did  not  under- 
stand, had  all  high  cards  up  his  sleeve,  and,  when  he 
finally  shook  out  his  sleeve,  his  competitors  in  the  game 
were  profoundly  disgusted  and  went  for  that  heathen  Chinee  in 
rough-shod  style.  The  difiference  was  that  "Tom''  never  shook 
his  sleeve.  He  was  further  handicapped  by  being  a  wealthy 
man.  While  perhaps  it  is  not  creditable  to  the  politics  of  the 
present  day  to  say,  but  it  is,  unfortunately,  the  truth  that  when  a 
wealthy  man  goes  into  politics  he  is  expected  to  pay  for  all  he 
gets,  and  Tom  Lowry  is  such  a  royal  good  fellow  that  it  would 
be  almost  a  libel  to  assume  that  out  of  that  large  body  of  men 
he  only  had  three  friends.  But  others  were  really  afraid  to  declare 
themselves  for  him  lest  they  should  place  themselves  under  sus- 
picion. As  a  matter  of  fact,  Tom  Lowry  would  make  a  most 
excellent  United  States  senator.  I  do  not  assume  that  he  would 
rank  up  beside  such  men  as  Senator  Hoar  and  others  of  his 
class,  or  with  those  dead  statesmen  senators,  Sumner,  Webster 
and  Conkling,  but  with  such  class  of  statesmen  as  Steve  Elkins, 
Matt  Quay  and  Arthur  Pue  Gorman,  Tom  would  be  a  whirl- 
wind. He  is  a  man  of  the  world  and  understands  the  world 
pretty  thoroughly,  and  the  world  runs  the  United  States  senate 
as  it  does  most  everything  else.  I  would  rather  rely  upon  a 
senator  who  is  a  man  of  the  world  to  accomplish  things  than  one 
who  is  a  theorist  and  orator.  So  if  he  had  reached  the  senate 
and  taken  time  enough  from  cutting  of¥  his  coupons  to  mingle 


316 


H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 


with  his  fellow  senators  he  would  have  been  a  very  popular  mem- 
ber, and  anything  within  reason  that  Tom  Lowry  wanted  for 
his  constituency  he  would  probably  get.  I  merely  say  this  in 
passing,  because  it  seems  too  bad  that  a  man  like  Mr.  Lowry 
should  be  relegated  to  history  with  only  three  men  on  earth  who 
think  he  is  fit  to  go  to  the  United  States  senate. 


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OBSERVATION  FORTY-SIX. 


The  Great  Gubernatorial  Contest  of  1904. 


On  the  5th  of  November,  1903,  Governor  Van  Sant  gave 
an  interview  to  the  evening  papers,  the  excuse  for  which  was 
the  November  elections  which  had  just  taken  place.  He 
gave  his  interview,  however,  an  especially  local  application. 
After  commenting  upon  the  elections  in  the  East,  this  con- 
venient question  was  asked  him : 

Will  the  contest  in  Minnesota  over  the  make-up  of  the  state  ticket 
have  any  relation  to  the  presidential  contest? 

To  this  he  replied: 

I  think  it  will.  It  is  a  little  early  to  discuss  state  politics,  but  one 
thing  should  be  demanded  by  the  people  of  Minnesota  who  are  for  Roose- 
velt, and  that  is  that  the  next  governor  should  be  a  man  who  was  and  is 
in  sympathy  with  the  Republican  state  platform  of  1902  in  its  declaration 
for  the  enforcement  of  the  law  against  the  ''merger"  or  parallel  and 
competing  railway  lines.  No  man  who  was  not  in  accord  with  the  peo- 
ple during  the  last  state  campaign  should  have  the  assurance  to  aspire 
to  the  governorship.  The  anti-merger  fight  involves  the  welfare  of  the 
state,  and  men  who  have  expressed  sympathy  for  those  who  organized 
the  "merger"  and  who  have  attempted  at  crucial  times  to  ridicule  the 
state  officers  in  their  endeavor  to  enforce  the  law,  should  not  now  be 
placed  in  a  position  where  they  might  connive  at  violations  of  the  law 
and  be  helpful  in  undoing  that  which  has  already  been  accomplished. 
This  fight  has  been  waged  in  the  interests  of  our  people,  and  will  be 
continued  until  the  law  has  been  vindicated  and  every  interest  thoroughly 
safe-guarded.  All  the  ingenuity  and  skill  of  able  counsel  will  be  em- 
ployed to  maintain  the  "merger"  in  some  form  and  to  carry  out  in  some 
manner  the  purposes  of  its  organization.  Our  nominee  should  not  be 
on  the  defensive  and  required  to  explain.  Promises  and  explanations 
made  necessary  by  one's  candidacy,  and  which  are  inconsistent  with 
former  words  and  actions  will  not  suffice.  No  man  who  desires  the 
domination  of  interests  inimical  to  the  people  and  who  has  not  stood 


318  H.   P.   HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

squarely  upon  the  anti-merger  platform  should  ask  under  existing  con- 
ditions elevation  to  this  responsible  office,  and  to  prevent  the  nomination 
of  such  a  man  a  most  determined  effort  should  be  made. 

With  Theodore  Roosevelt,  who  has  been  pronounced  against  the 
merger,  as  our  standard-bearer,  what  predicament  would  our  party  be  in 
if  it  nominated  a  merger  sympathizer  for  governor? 

There  are  various  methods  of  construing  the  EngHsh  lan- 
guage, and  consequently  I  take  the  liberty  in  this  volume 
to  place  my  construction  upon  the  interview  v^hich  I  have 
just  quoted.  It  was  a  formal  and  carefully  prepared  inter- 
view, and,  to  my  mind,  bore  the  impress  from  start  to  finish 
that  there  was  just  one  man  in  the  State  of  Minnesota  who 
filled  the  description,  and  that  his  name  was  Samuel  R.  Van 
Sant.  He  had  been  the  head  and  front  of  the  anti-merger 
fight,  had  inaugurated  it  in  the  first  place,  and  in  every  way 
had  been  in  the  foreground.  Here  was  an  interview  stating 
that  the  contest  should  be  continued,  and  no  one  should 
be  nominated  for  Governor  who  had  not  been  in  the  fight 
against  the  "merger." 

I  invite  the  most  critical  person  to  analyze  this  interview 
and  show  any  sentence,  any  paragraph,  or  any  word  which 
could  be  tortured  into  a  declination  of  Governor  Van  Sant 
to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term  as  Governor.  I  am  not  at 
all  tenacious  of  my  own  views  and  give  them  merely  for 
what  they  are  worth  to  the  intelligent  reader,  and  illus- 
trate the  different  constructions  which  can  be  placed  upon 
the  English  language  by  stating  that  Judge  L.  W.  Collins, 
in  November,  saw  in  Governor  Van  Sant's  interview  a  strong 
and  formal  announcement  that  he  would  not  again  be  a 
candidate  for  Governor.  Just  five  days  after  Governor  Van 
Sant's  interview  was  made  public.  Judge  Collins  made  an 
announcement  in  his  home  papers  at  St.  Cloud,  explaining 
that  in  view  of  Governor  Van  Sant's  declaration  he  was  a 
candidate  for  Governor.  Here  is  the  statement  which  Judge 
Collins  published: 

It  has  been  well  known  that  for  several  years  I  have  aspired  to  the 
position  of  governor  in  this  state,  to  which  I  came  in  its  territorial  days, 
and  wherein  I  have  lived  for  nearly  50  years.  My  friends  say  that  the 
time  to  announce  and  open  an  active  candidacy  has  arrived. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  319 

My  personal  relations  with  Governor  Van  Sant  and  my  convictions 
that  his  earnest  effort  to  prevent  what  his  legal  adviser,  the  attorney 
general,  pronounced  a  violation  of  our  statutes,  should  be  sustained  by 
every  conscientious  citizen,  have  prevented  the  taking  of  any  steps  by  me 
looking  towards  the  nomination  while  the  governor  felt  disposed  to  again 
become  a  candidate. 

I  do  not  regard  the  recently  published  interview  in  which  he  an- 
nounced his  position  as  indicating  that  he  is  in  the  field;  on  the  contrary, 
I  construe  it  as  indicative  of  his  determination  to  keep  out  and  to  be 
considered  a  possibility  no  longer. 

He  is  absent  from  the  state,  but  I  know  that  many  of  his  friends 
put  the  same  construction  upon  the  interview  and  assert  that  if  he 
proposed  becoming  a  candidate  he  would  have  said  so  in  no  uncertain 
way. 

With  this  condition  presenting  itself  I  announce  my  candidacy,  and 
solicit  the  support  of  all  Republicans  who  believe  in  and  propose  to 
stand  by  the  platform  presented  in  1902  and  on  which  the  party  gained 
its  magnificent  and  unequalled  victory. 

My  record  is  before  the  people  of  the  state,  and  I  hope  still  receives 
their  approval  as  it  has  on  past  occasions  when  before  them  for  endorse 
ment. 

This  shows  the  different  constructions  which  can  be 
placed  upon  language  by  different  persons. 

Judge  Collins  had  twice  been  a  candidate  in  Republican 
state  conventions  for  the  office  of  Governor,  and  his  desire 
for  the  position  was  no  secret.  It  always  seemed  to  me  'that 
his  assumption  that  Governor  Van  Sant  had  declined  was 
forced,  and  that  the  haste  with  which  he  accepted  the  inter- 
view with  Van  Sant  as  a  declination,  while  the  Governor 
was  absent  from  the  state,  indicated  a  fear  that  when  the 
Governor  should  be  asked  to  place  his  own  interpretation  on 
the  interview,  he  would  blossom  out  as  a  full-fledged  candi- 
date for  the  third  term.  Per  contra,  it  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  Judge  Jamison,  Governor  Van  Sant's  private  secretary, 
stated  to  Collins  very  plainly  that  the  Governor  was  not  a 
candidate  for  re-nomination;  and  the  Governor  himself  has 
told  me,  in  discussing  the  point  I  have  raised,  since  I  be- 
gan writing  this  book,  that  he  really  did  not  intend  to  be 
a  candidate  for  the  third  term.  In  reply  to  that  I  have  only 
to  say  that  whatever  the  Governor's  actual  intentions  were, 
hfe  certainly  did  not  decline  the  nomination  in  the  interview 
which  I  have  quoted;  and  it  is  altogether  probable,  if  there 


320  H.   P.   HALUS   OBSERVATIONS. 

had  been  any  appearance  of  a  popular  uprising  in  his  be- 
half, he  would  have  been  willing  to  make  the  race. 

With  Judge  Collins'  interview  the  campaign  of  1904  with- 
in the  Republican  party  began  to  formulate  itself.  Ex-State 
Auditor  R.  C.  Dunn,  had  really  been  a  candidate  for  Gover- 
nor for  several  years.  He  was  so  coy  that  he  scarcely  ad- 
mitted it  to  himself — unless  he  was  alone.  But  it  was,  never- 
theless, known  to  his  friends  that  that  was  his  ambition.  He 
was  much  talked  of  as  a  candidate  when  Governor  Van  Sant 
was  nominated  for  the  second  term,  but  firmly  refused  to  en- 
ter the  field  against  Van  Sant.  It  has  been  alleged — but  I 
do  not  vouch  for  it — that  there  was  an  understanding  that  if 
he  would  not  enter  the  field  against  Van  Sant  in  1902  he  would 
have  the  field  and  Van  Sant's  support  in  1904.  This  may  or 
may  not  be  true.  But  stranger  things  in  politics  than  that 
have  happened. 

Of  course  after  Judge  Collins'  interview  came  out,  an- 
nouncing his  candidacy,  Mr.  Dunn  was  eargerly  sought  by 
the  reporters.  Probably  no  man  lives  who  talks  more  free- 
ly, plumply  and  energetically  than  Bob  Dunn,  but  he  has 
one  characteristic:  he  does  not  talk  until  he  gets  ready.  The 
consequence  was  that  he  parried  the  eflforts  of  the  report- 
ers to  get  an  interview  formally  announcing  his  candidacy, 
and  in  talking  with  friends  would  couple  the  possibilities  of 
the  future  by  some  qualifying  statement  such  as,  'Tf  I  should 
take  the  field  for  Governor,"  etc.  I  heard  him  make  such  a 
qualification  many  times,  and  I  well  understood  all  of  the  time 
that  he  was  a  full-fledged  candidate  all  but  saying  so  offi- 
cially. When  he  got  ready,  however,  to  make  the  announce- 
ment he  did  so  in  his  own  way.  But  it  was  the  middle  of 
January  before  he  did  so,  and  then  made  use  of  his  own 
newspaper  at  Princeton,  Minn.,  Jan,  12,  1904,  the  occasion 
being  a  reception  tendered  him  at  his  home  in  the  Opera 
house.  His  announcement  to  his  friends  at  that  time  was  as 
follows : 


I  am  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  nomination  for  governor  of 
Minnesota  and  I  respectfully  solicit  the  support  of  all  Republicans,  and 
my  fellow  citizens  generally. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  321 

No  man  is  big  enough  to  dictate  a  platform  for  the  Republican  party 
of  Minnesota.  The  party  through  its  representatives  in  convention 
assembled  will  formulate  a  platform  upon  which  I  will  squarely  stand. 
The  combined  wisdom  of  the  Republican  party  of  the  state  is  better  than 
the  judgment  of  any  individual  member  of  the  party. 

I  heartly  indorse  and  approve  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Repub- 
lican state  convention  of  1902. 

There  are  certain  other  things  which  I  believe  in  and  will  practice, 
advocate  and  recommend  if  I  am  chosen  governor. 

The  state  board  of  control  should  be  absolutely  divorced  from  politics 
and  the  affairs  of  the  board  should  be  conducted  on  business  principles, 
on  broad  gauge  lines,  with  due  regard  to  humanitarian  features;  no  nig- 
gardly policy  should  be  pursued. 

One  of  my  cardinal  beliefs  is  non-interference  of  the  executive  with 
the  legislative  branch  of  the  government,  and  the  appointive  officers 
should  eschew  politics  and  devote  their  energies  to  the  performance  of 
their  official  duties.    Those  who  serve  the  state  best  will  serve  me  best. 

The  state  should  make  liberal  provisions  for  the  reclamation  of  its 
swamp  lands. 

I  pledge  myself  to  observe  and  enforce  the  law  which  gives  to  ex- 
Union  soldiers  the  preference  to  appointive  offices. 

I  pledge  myself  to  a  fearless  and  impartial  enforcement  of  the  laws 
upon  our  statute  books,  particularly  those  which  guard  the  interests  of 
the  people  from  the  encroachments  of  corporate  greed  and  aggression. 
Every  citizen  is  equal  .under  the  law  and  should  enjoy  equal  privileges 
and  equally  share  the  burdens. 

In  conclusion,  I  think  my  record  in  the  legislature  and  in  the  state 
auditor's  office,  which  is  an  open  book,  should  be  a  guarantee  that  I 
will  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  of  governor  in  an  intelligent  and 
business-like  manner.  If  nominated  and  elected  I  pledge  myself  to 
devote  my  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  faithful  performance  of  the 
duties  of  the  position. 

It  will  be  noted  that  Dunn,  as  well  as  Collins,  announced 
that, he,  too,  supported  the  Republican  state  platform  of  1902. 
This  platform  especially  insisted  on  the  "merger"  fight  being 
continued.  Consequently,  on  the  face  of  things  there  was  the 
utmost  harmony  between  the  two  candidates,  and  the  prac- 
tical situation  was  that  the  only  real  local  issue  in  Minne- 
sota this  fall  was  "merger"  and  "anti-merger,"  and  that  both 
Dunn  and  Collins  were  red-hot  anti-mergerites. 

To  a  person  not  versed  in  the  science  of  politics  this  would 
seem  to  make  a  situation  where  there  was  not  much  to  fight 
about,  both   candidates  standing  pledged  to  the  same  prin- 

21 


322  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

ciples.  Nevertheless,  the  most  bitter  political  and  personal 
controversy  which  the  state  has  ever  seen  sprang  up.  The 
entire  ground  for  this  controversy  was  the  "merger"  question, 
which,  on  the  face  of  it,  had  no  business  to  be  even  mentioned 
as  long  as  the  candidates  were  entirely  agreed  upon  it.  The 
Collins  men  took  as  their  stock  in  trade  the  statement  that 
Dunn  was  in  favor  of  the  "merger"  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
and  Great  Northern  railways.  The  Dunn  men  not  only  denied 
this,  but  declared  that  Judge  Collins  had  always  been,  on  the 
bench,  practically  a  representative  of  the  Great  Northern,  and 
that  the  president  of  the  road  had  contributed  largely  to  Judge 
Collins'  election  in  1894. 

To  show  something  of  how  this  feeling  ran,  I  quote  the 
following  statement  made  by  Mr.  Dunn  in  a  speech  in  Minne- 
apolis on  May  6th:  ^ 

I  have  it  upon  the  authority  of  James  J.  Hill  that  when  Judge  Col- 
lins was  running  against  Judge  Willis  for  the  supreme  bench,  the  Great 
Northern  railway  contributed  between  $30,000  and  $40,000  to  his  cam- 
paign fund;  and  I  have  it  on  the  same  authority  that  E.  A.  Nelson,  state 
librarian,  went  to  the  Great  Northern  railway  to  get  $25,000  for  Judge 
Collins  in  the  present  campaign.  I  will  withdraw  from  the  gubernatorial 
campaign  right  now  if  it  can  be  proved  that  the  Great  Northern  has  been 
asked  or  that  money  has  been  given  by  the  road  for  me  in  this  campaign. 

Considering  that  the  two  candidates  were  both  pledged  to 
fight  the  Great  Northern  road,  this  speech  indicated  that  things 
were  getting  a  little  warm.  Judge  Collins  kept  his  end  of  the 
fight  up  by  sending  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Dunn,  referring 
to  the  Minneapolis  speech: 

Did  you  use  this  language,  or  any  other  of  like  import?  If  you  are 
correctly  reported  you  accuse  Mr.  Hill,  as  well  as  myself,  of  very  serious 
offences.  You  placed  him  in  the  attitude  of  furnishing  funds  to  corrupt 
the  voters  of  this  state,  a  common  boodler,  and  I  am  accused  of  solicit- 
ing a  large  sum  of  money  from  Mr.  Hill  for  the  purpose  of  corrupting 
and  boodling  the  voters.  I  simply  want  to  know  if  you  used  this  or 
similar  language.     An  early  and  direct  reply  is  earnestly  solicited. 

Respectfully  yours, 

L.  W.  COLLINS. 

Mr.  Dunn  never  made  any  formal  reply  by  letter  to  Judge 
Collins'   letter.      In   interviews  with   the   newspapers   he   re- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  323 

iterated  that  he  had  been  correctly  reported,  and  that  he  did  say 
what  was  alleged.  Judge  Collins,  however,  was  not  content 
with  this,  and  he  appealed  to  Mr.  Hill  for  confirmation  or  de- 
nial. The  result  was  that  on  Friday,  May  13,  Judge  Collins 
gave  out  this  statement  to  the  newspapers : 

JUDGE   COLLINS'   STATEMENT. 

During  my  residence  of  fifty  years  in  Minnesota,  never  before  have 
I  been  called  upon  to  publicly  resent  an  attack  upon  my  personal  charac- 
ter. I  cannot  allow  the  recent  attack  of  Mr.  Dunn  to  go  unnoticed.  He 
has  a  right  to  his  own  views  upon  public  questions,  and  he  may  choose 
his  political  associates,  but  he  has  no  right  to  defame  others  who  dif- 
fer with  him  and  his  friends  upon  these  questions.  I  judge  him  from 
his  own  language  and  acts. 

In  the  Pioneer  Press  of  January  3,  1902,  he  is  quoted  as  saying, 
concerning  the  railroad  merger,  then  the  subject  of  heated  dicussion  in 
this  state: 

*'I  believe  that  the  fight  against  Mr.  Hill  is  inspired  by  rival  railway 
companies,  and  I  am  heartily  out  of  sympathy  with  it  because  of  this 
belief." 

Mr.  Dunn  has  never  announced  a  change  of  mind  upon  this  subject. 

In  fact,  a  short  time  since  he  caused  this  interview  to  be  republished, 
with  a  statement  that  he  stood  by  it,  and  in  his  interview  with  Mr.  Hill, 
published  in  the  Dispatch  of  the  7th  inst.,  the  latter,  speaking  of  the 
present  campaign,  assured  Mr.  Dunn  that  he  had  his  (Mr.  Hill's)  best 
wishes,  and  also  that  the  figures  to  be  obtained  at  the  office  "might  help 
Bob."  Because  many  persons,  including  myself,  have  recognized  and 
seen  fit  to  refer  to  this  well  known  relationship  and  intimacy  between 
these  gentlemen,  which  intimacy  and  exchange  of  sympathy  Mr.  Dunn 
now  publicly  admits,  he  found  provocation  in  a  speech  at  Minneapolis 
on  May  6,  to  charge  "calmly  and  deliberately"  that  in  1894,  when  a  candi- 
date for  re-election  to  the  supreme  bench,  I  "solicited  and  secured  the 
support  of  James  J.  Hill  to  the  extent  of  a  contribution  of  from  $30,000 
to  $40,000"  to  my  campaign  fund.  This  was  a  direct  charge  that  I  had 
solicited  from  Mr.  Hill  the  large  sum  of  money  mentioned  for  my  per- 
sonal use.  In  a  letter  dated  May  7,  I  asked  Mr.  Dunn  if  he  had  used 
this  language,  but  to  this  letter  I  have  received  no  reply,  and  I  note 
from  statements  in  the  public  press  that  none  will  be  made.  Knowing 
the  utter  falsity  of  this  charge,  and  believing  that  Mr.  Hill  would  refuse 
to  father  it,  I  wrote  to  him,  asking  the  following  questions: 

First — Did  you  contribute  any  sum  whatsoever  to  my  campaign  fund 
when  I  was  a  candidate  against  the  Hon.  John  Willis,  or  have  you  ever 
contributed  to  that  fund  in  any  other  campaign?  If  so,  when,  where, 
how  much  and  to  whom  was  the  money  paid? 


324  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Second — Did  I  ever  solicit  or  receive  from  you,  or  from  anyone 
connected  with  you  in  business  or  otherwise,  any  money  whatsoever  for 
campaign  purposes?  If  so  when,  where,  how  much,  and  to  whom  was 
the  money  paid?     Omitting  the  address,  Mr.  Hill's  reply  was  as  follows: 

"Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  of  even  date  was  duly  received.  As  the 
same  is  rather  ambiguous  I  would  like  to  hear  from  you  further  as  to 
how  far  you  wish  me  to  go  into  details  in  connection  with  the  matter 
referred  to  herein.  Yours  very  truly, 

"JAMES  J.  HILL."" 

*  I  did  not  regard  my  letter  as  ambiguous,  but,  waiving  the  point,  I 
immediately  replied  as  follows: 

"Hon.  James  J.  Hill,  city.  Dear  Sir — Referring  to  the  letters  which 
have  recently  passed  between  us,  let  me  say  that  Mr.  Dunn  explicitly 
charged  in  his  speech,  if  correctly  reported,  that  I  solicited  and  received 
from  you  between  $30,000  and  $40,000  in  the  campaign  of  1894.  But  one 
construction  can  be  placed  on  this  language  "and  but  one  meaning  can 
be  attributed  to  it,  which  is,  that  at  the  time  mentioned,  I  solicited  from 
you  and  that  you  furnished  to  me  for  my  own  private  and  individual 
use  in  that  campaign  the  large  sum  of  money  mentioned.  It  was  this 
construction  and  meaning  I  had  in  mind  when  writing  my  former 
letter,  and  I  therefore  ask  you,  first:  Did  I  solicit  from  you  any  con- 
tributions of  money  in  the  campaign  of  1894,  or  any  other  campaign? 
If  so,  when,  where  and  how  much, 

"Second — Did  you  contribute  to  me  personally  or  for  my  personal 
use  any  money  in  1894,  or  at  any  other  time  for  campaign  purposes? 
If  so,  when,  where,  how  much  and  to  whom  was  the  money  paid?  These 
questions  are  as  pointed  and  direct  as  words  can  make  them,  and  I 
respectfully  solicit  an  early  reply.  Respectfully  yours, 

"L  W.  COLLINS." 

Mr.  Hill's  second  reply.     To  this  I  received  the  following  reply: 

"Dear  Sir:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  loth  inst.,  and  if 
you  desire  a  personal  interview  on  the  subject  of  the  letter  I  expect  to  be 
at  home  all  of  this  week  and  will  see  you  at  my  office  any  tnme  you 
desire. 

"No  contribution  was  personally  solicited  by  you  or  made  to  you 
by  me. 

"By  whom  contributions  were  solicited  and  to  whom  made  is  a 
proper  subject  for  a  personal  interview  rather  than  of  correspondence. 

Yours  truly, 

"JAMES  J.  HILL. 

After  submitting  the  above  correspondence  I  leave  it  to  any  fair- 
minded  man  to  judge  of  Mr.  Dunn's  candor  and  fairness  of  statement 
when  making  that  charge. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  325 

Referring  now  to  Mr.  Hill's  invitation  to  a  personal  interview  as 
to  contributions  made  by  him  in  the  campaign  of  1894,  let  me  say  that 
I  have  no  desire  to  ascertain  about  contributions  unless  they  were  made 
upon  my  solicitation  or  suggestion.  If  Mr.  Hill's  letters  referred  to 
contributions  made  by  him  to  the  Republican  state  central  committee  it 
will  be  seen  that  they  have  no  bearing  upon  the  charge  made  by  Mr. 
Dunn.  In  this  event,  it  must  be  presumed  that  the  committee  used  its 
funds  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  ticket,  including  Mr.  Dunn,  who  was 
a  candidate  for  state  auditor,  and  Hon.  J.  P.  Heatwole,  a  candidate  for 
member  of  Congress. 

I  now  state  without  equivocation,  or  reservation,  that  I  never  sug- 
gested, and  never  requested,  directly  or  indirectly,  that  money  be  solic- 
ited or  secured  from  Mr.  Hill  for  that  campaign,  or  for  the  present 
contest,  or  for  any  other. 

If  such  solicitation  has  been  made  it  has  been  done  without  my 
knowledge,  authority  or  consent,  and  twice  have  I  unsuccessfully  en- 
deavored to  ascertain  who  did  this  soliciting,  or  secured  the  money — if 
anybody.  I  want  the  names  of  these  parties  published  to  the  world  in  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Hill,  and  then  let  the  public  judge  whether  or  not  I 
countenanced  or  authorized  their  acts. 

I  have  carefully  refrained  from  making  any  attack  on  the  character 
of  Mr.  Dunn,  or  any  other  candidate,  and  cannot  be  justly  accused  of 
any  mud-slinging  whatsoever,  but  a  candidate's  record,  political  associ- 
ates, and  attitude  on  public  questions  are  fit  subjects  for  discussion  in  a 
contest  like  the  present  one. 

I  have  not  hesitated  to  say  that  the  Republican  party  in  this  state 
has  been  one  of  principle.  In  1902  it  took  an  unequivocal  position  on 
the  merger  question,  and  with  a  clear  voice  indorsed  the  action  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  and  Governor  Van  Sant  in  bringing  into  the  courts  the 
Northern  Securities  company  to  answer  to  the  charge  that  it  was  guilty 
of  a  flagrant  violation  of  both  the  state  and  federal  statutes.  The  charge 
that  it  had  violated  the  federal  law  stands  substantiated.  I  believe  that 
the  party  meant  precisely  what  it  said  upon  this  subject,  and  that  it  was 
not  trifling  with  the  people  at  that  time.  I  believe  that  it  will  not,  at 
the  coming  convention,  repudiate  its  platform  or  stultify  itself  when 
nominating  its  candidate  for  govenor.  If  it  does,  its  indorsement  of 
President  Roosevelt  and  Governor  Van  Sant  was  mere  ceremony  to  be 
disavowed  at  the  first  opportunity  if  demanded  by  the  candidate.  The 
issue  now  before  the  party  is  not  whether  one  of  two  or  more  men  shall 
be  selected,  but  shall  the  party  be  consistent,  or  shall  it  go  into  the 
campaign  with  a  repudiation  of  the  doctrine  upon  which  it  appealed  to 
the  people  in  1902,  and  which  was  upheld  by  the  majority  for  Van  Sant 
of  more  than  60,000? 

Those  who  have  taken  any  interest  in  this  subject  cannot  have 
reached  any  other  conclusion  than  that  the  fight  against  these  interests 
has  just  commenced.     Not   only  Minnesota  but   the   entire   country   is 


326  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

involved  in  a  great  struggle  to  determine  whether  such  interests  shall 
be  subservient  to  law.  Our  party  will  certainly  take  a  decided  stand  upon 
this  subject,  and  an  aspirant  for  the  Ijighest  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
people  who  has  openly  declared  himself  out  of  sympathy  with  the  party 
on  this  important  public  question  ought  not  to  complain  if  he  is  criti- 
cised. 

L.  W.  COLLINS. 

The  same  date  Mr.  Nelson,  the  librarian,  published  a  card 
explaining  his  interview  with  Mr.  Hill  and  denying  very  em- 
phatically that  he  solicited  money  for  the  Collins  campaign. 

I  give  space  to  these  statements  as  a  matter  of  history  for 
the  double  purpose  of  showing  the  trend  of  the  most  notable 
ante-nomination  campaign  in  the  history  of  the  state,  and  also 
to  show  how  good  men,  who  start  on  the  same  platform,  pledg- 
ing themselves  to  the  same  things,  can  get  at  variance  under 
the  stress  of  political  strife.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  express 
any  opinion  of  my  own  upon  the  charge  made  by  Mr.  Dunn, 
and  its  refutation  by  Judge  Collins.  The  public  has  sufficient 
intelligence  to  draw  its  own  conclusions.  I  sometimes  wonder, 
however,  what  Minnesota  politicians  would  have  for  a  bone 
of  contention  if  J.  J.  Hill  had  never  been  born. 

Another  element  of  accusation  against  Mr.  Dunn  was  that 
he  had  been  too  lenient  while  State  Auditor  in  settling  with 
big  lumbermen  for  trespassing  upon  state  timber;  and  the 
public  examiner  worked  overtime  during  the  campaign  to  find 
out  something  which  would  reflect  upon  Mr.  Dunn.  Mr.  Dunn 
replied  very  vigorously  and  in  no  uncertain  language  to  these 
accusations ;  and  as  they  are  largely  devoted  to  assertions  and 
counter  assertions  it  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  them  in  de- 
tail. 

But  as  the  date  of  the  state  convention  approached  the 
partisans  of  these  respective  candidates  grew  more  keenly  bit- 
ter, and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  such  bitter  feeling  has  ever 
been  developed  between  the  Democrats  and  Republicans  in 
Minnesota  as  among  the  Republicans  themselves  during  this 
ante-nomination  gubernatorial  canvass  of  1904. 

When  the  Supreme  Court,  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  land, 
decided  against  the  "merger"  by  a  vote  of  five  to  four  and 
three-quarters  the  Dunn  men  claimed  the  merger  fight  was 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  327 

over  and  taken  out  of  politics,  while  the  Collins  men  claimed 
that  it  had  only  just  begun.  It  would  not  do  to  lose  their 
stock  in  trade. in  the  middle  of  the  canvass. 

When  the  county  conventions  began  to  be  held  the  air 
was  full  of  vociferous  claims  on  both  sides.  Honors  were 
easy  in  the  matter  of  these  claims.  I  would  not  like  to  say  that 
men  intentionally  lied  relative  to  primary  meetings  and  coun- 
ty conventions  in  their  reports  of  who  had  won  the  victories ; 
but  I  think  it  is  fair  to  say  that  they  shunned  telling  the  truth 
with  as  great  an  effort  as  they  would  in  avoiding  a  den  of 
rattlesnakes.  But  truth  and  politics  never  did  mix  well  to- 
gether, so  that  the  truthful  man  had  better  engage  in  the  min- 
istry rather  than  participate  in  politics. 

When  the  state  convention  assembled  on  June  30th  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  excitement  to  the  square  inch  in  St. 
Paul.  The  convention  itself  was  one  of  the  tamest  affairs  I 
ever  saw.  An  exciting  canvass  had  just  been  concluded. 
Everybody  was  mad,  hopeful,  and  certain  that  his  side  would 
win,  and  that  all  the  rest  of  the  fellows  were  scoundrels  who 
did  not  believe  as  he  did.  There  was  no  middle  ground, 
though  Ex-Congressman  Frank  Eddy  offered  himself  as  a 
vicarious  sacrifice  if  anybody  wanted  any  middle  ground.  But 
the  feeling  was  that  it  was  Dunn,  Collins,  or  a  funeral.  The 
hotel  corridors  and  the  adjacent  bar-rooms  were  packed  with 
an  excited  mass  of  humanity,  all  acting  as  if  their  personal 
eternal  salvation  depended  upon  the  nomination  of  the  candi- 
date they  individually  championed.  The  candidates  had  head- 
quarters at  all  the  hotels,  which  were  thronged  with  their  par- 
tisans at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  Halls  were  hired  and 
public  meetings  were  held  every  evening,  at  which  vociferous 
speeches  were  made  in  favor  of  the  candidate  who  was  paying 
for  the  hall.  Amidst  all  this  the  convention  itself  was  almost 
as  quiet  as  a  religious  service;  certainly  as  quiet  as  a  camp- 
meeting  when  the  deacons  are  taking  an  outing. 

The  evening  before  the  convention,  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee which  had  17  Collins  men  out  of  29,  met  at  the  Wind- 
sor hotel.  They  decided  that  they  would  issue  badges  of  ad- 
mission to  the  main  floor  of  the  Opera  House  to  those  hav- 


328  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

ing  credentials  correct  on  their  face,  and  tickets  of  admission 
to  the  galleries  for  the  contestants. 

The  delegates  and  contestants  were  swarming  •  about  the 
committee  headquarters  to  secure  their  badges  and  tickets, 
so  that  before  the  committee  adjourned  it  was  about  mid- 
night. Word  was  brought  to  Judge  Jamison,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  that  there  was  a  large  crowd  up  at  the 
Governor's  office,  and  he  was  invited  to  come  up.  Governor 
Van  Sant  was  also  at  the  hotel,  and  the  Judge  and  the  Gov- 
ernor walked  up  to  the  capitol,  where  they  found  about  lOO 
excited  men.  They  had  been  talking  over  the  situation  with 
a  view  of  getting  a  ruling  from  the  State  Central  Committee, 
which  would  have  produced  the  split  in  the  party  which  they 
really  at  heart  desired.  When  the  Judge  and  the  Governor 
arrived,  several  incendiary  speeches  were  made,  the  purport 
of  which  was  that  they  asked  the  State  Central  Committee  to 
make  up  a  roll  of  the  convention  which  should  be  considered 
as  final  and  determining  who  should  hold  seats  in  the  conven- 
tion. The  precedent  at  the  Chicago  National  Convention  was 
cited  to  affirm  this.  The  plan  was  to  have  Judge  Jamison 
call  the  convention  to  order  and  recognize  a  certain  man  who 
would  offer  a  resolution  to  that  effect  to  be  voted  on  in  the 
convention.  Of  course,  Judge  Jamison  would  have  been  ex- 
pected to  declare  the  resolution  adopted  no  matter  how  the 
vote  stood.  In  the  meantime  the  committee  was  to  have  the 
roll  all  prepared,  admitting  the  Collins  delegates  from  Hen- 
nepin and  Ramsey  counties  and  all  the  other  contested  coun- 
ties to  permanent  seats  in  the  convention.  After  the  speeches 
had  been  made  and  the  proposed  resolution  read.  Judge  Jami- 
son arose  and  stated  that  some  weeks  previously  the  State 
Central  Committee  had  unanimously  decided  to  invite  Senator 
Clapp  to  preside  and  he  had  courteously  accepted  and  prepar- 
ed a  speech  designed  to  be  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  He 
thought  it  would  be  a  matter  of  discourtesy  to  the  Senator 
for  him  to  assume  to  take  the  convention  out  of  his  hands, 
and  that  his  duty  would  be  discharged  when  he  called  the 
convention  to  order  and  turned  it  over  to  Senator  Clapp,  to 
meet  this  or  any  other  emergencies  which  might  arise.  Judge 
Jamison's  pacificatory  speech  had  no  eflfect  upon  that  excited 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  329- 

mob.  Other  speeches  were  made  advocating  the  proposed 
resolution,  and  finally  someone  moved  that  the  resolution  be 
adopted,  and  the  entire  crowd  voted  unanimously  that  that 
should  be  the  course  of  procedure.  The  vote  was  taken  about 
I  a.  m.  If  the  motion  had  been  that  there  should  be  two  con- 
ventions and  two  candidates  for  Governor  put  in  the  field  by 
the  Republican  party,  it  could  not  have  been  more  direct.  It 
is  to  the  credit  of  Judge  Jamison  that  when  his  crisis  arose 
he  displayed  more  firmness  and  fairness  than  I  supposed  he 
possessed,  as  he  was  a  supporter  of  Collins  himself.  He  sim- 
ply and  absolutely  declined  to  carry  out  this  incendiary  pro- 
gram ;  and  the  fact  that  the  party  now  presents  an  apparently 
united  front,  with  a  sore  flank,  is  due  to  his  decision  at  that 
critical  time  on  the  memorable  night  before  the  meeting  of 
the  convention.  The  Judge  declined  to  be  a  party  to  self-stul- 
tification, and  made  a  decision  which  probably  the  majority 
of  those  who  voted  for  the  incendiary  resolution  will  live  to 
thank  him  for.  And  still  the  machinery  through  the  ma- 
jority of  the  State  Central  Committee  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Collins  forces,  and  it  is  not  often  that  it  has  been  surrendered 
as  a  matter  of  policy.  Those  who  were  present  at  the  con- 
vention will  recall  that  Senator  Clapp  repeatedly  mentioned 
that  there  was  no  temporary,  or  other,  roll  of  the  convention, 
and  he  could  not,  therefore,  determine  who  were  members 
of  the  convention  in  order  to  appoint  certain  committees.  If 
there  had  been  even  a  temporary  roll  this  history  of  the  affair 
would  have  read  a  good  deal  different. 

The  Collins  men  were  evidently  fearful  of  their  strength,, 
and  the  usual  political  tactics,  which  have  been  so  frequently 
described  in  these  pages,  were  evidently  desired  to  be  re- 
sorted to,  of  making  a  split  in  the  convention  and  two  can- 
didates for  Governor.  I  assume,  because  I  consider  it  fair 
to  do  so,  that  in  urging  this  action  the  Collins  men  knew  that 
they  were  in  the  minority.  I  only  absolutely  know  that  they 
did  urge  such  action,  and  I  read  their  minds  as  the  result  of 
their  making  such  demands.  While  I  do  not  think  any  in- 
justice is  done  them  by  this  assumption  of  mine,  I  feel  that  I 
can  fairly  claim  that  the  presumption  and  conclusion  I  have- 


330  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

drawn  has  a  logical  basis  to  rest  upon  from  the  action  which 
they  urged. 

I  by  no  means  censure  or  criticise  the  Collins  men  for  their 
demands.  They  were  simply  apt  pupils  in  the  school  of  prac- 
tical politics.  They  controlled  the  machine  and  wanted  to 
use  it.  The  Dunn  men  would  have  done  the  same  if  their 
positions  had  been  reversed.  When  you  are  in  a  position 
where  you  cannot  do  it,  it  is  always  safe  to  denounce  the  other 
fellow  for  doing  something  you  would  like  to  do  if  you  had 
the  power. 

The  convention  assembled  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House  during  the  forenoon  of  June  30,  1904.  There  was  a 
large  police  force  and  numerous  sergeants-at-arms  appointed 
by  the  State  Central  Committee,  on  hand  to  preserve  order 
and  inspect  tickets  and  badges  presented  at  the  door.  Sena- 
tor Moses  E.  Clapp  had  been  selected  by  common  consent 
as  the  temporary  presiding  officer.  Senator  Clapp  had  been 
careful  not  to  openly  commit  himself  to  either  faction,  though 
it  was  generally  understood  that  he  favored  Collins  for  Gov- 
ernor. Still,  owing  to  his  high  position  and  the  feeling  that 
he  would  be  fair  in  his  rulings  (as  he  was  soon  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  re-election)  both  sides  felt  that  he  was  the  safest  man 
to  select,  and  one  who  could  be  trusted. 

It  would  have  been  almost  fatal  to  have  had  a  contest  for 
the  temporary  chairmanship  thrust  upon  the  convention  at 
the  outset,  in  its  heated  mercurial  state. 

The  calling  of  the  convention  to  order  by  Senator  Clapp 
was  delayed  a  considerable  length  of  time  by  a  conference  up- 
on the  platform,  at  which  I  was  present  simply  by  the  accident 
of  location,  and  consequently  heard  the  conference  without 
any  intention  of  intruding  or  being  a  party  thereto.  Messrs. 
W.  H.  Grimshaw,  U.  S.  Marshal,  and  Hon.  R.  B.  Brower, 
of  St.  Cloud,  represented  the  Collins  forces  in  the  conference, 
and  W.  G.  Anderson,  of  Winona,  who  had  been  chosen  as  the 
Dunn  leader  upon  the  floor,  represented  the  Dunn  faction. 
Grimshaw  was  absolutely  incendiary  in  his  demands  upon 
Senator  Clapp.  He  talked  along  the  lines  of  the  midnight 
resolution  passed  in  Governor  Van  Sant's  chambers  the  night 
before.     He  demanded  full  recognition  of  the  Hennepin  dele- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  331 

gation  which  had  been  allowed  seats  upon  the  floor,  and  the 
utter  ignoring  of  the  contestants.  He  denounced  the  con- 
testants as  bolters,  not  entitled  to  recognition  in  any  way  what- 
ever. Senator  Clapp  refused  to  comply  with  Mr.  Grimshaw's 
request,  as  Judge  Jamison  had,  and  finally  turning  to  the 
representatives  of  the  factions,  said:  "You  gentlemen  must 
agree  among  yourselves,  and  when  you  do  I  will  decide  what 
I  will  do."  Senator  Clapp  had  previously  suggested  several 
plans,  one  of  which  was  to  have  an  agreement  as  to  the  make- 
up of  the  credentials  committee,  but  this  the  representatives 
of  the  candidates  at  first  declined  to  consider.  Mr.  Brower 
said  but  little,  and  was  not  especially  insistent,  but  Grim- 
shaw  was  aggressive,  and  open  in  his  demands,  while  Ander- 
son was  quiet  and  resolute  in  refusing  to  accede  to  any  of 
Grimshaw's  requests,  though  he  favored  Senator  Clapp's  plan 
of  an  agreement  upon  the  make-up  of  the  committee  on  cre- 
dentials, as  that  committee  would  hold  the  key  to  the  situa- 
tion. 

The  1 175  delegates  gathered  were  mere  puppets  to  be 
moved  by  the  machinery  of  the  managers.  An  agreement  was 
finally  reached  upon  the  basis  of  Senator  Qapp's  suggestion, 
and  Grimshaw  reluctantly  assented  because  he  could  not  help 
himself.  Senator  Clapp  had  told  him  in  plain  terms  that  he 
proposed  to  rule  absolutely  fairly  in  presiding  over  the  con- 
vention. 

While  this  delay  was  going  on  the  convention  was  restless, 
but  was  finally  called  to  order  by  Judge  Jamison,  and  the  tem- 
porary chairman  named,  as  having  been  selected  by  the  State 
Central  Committee.  Before  any  active  business  was  attempt- 
ed the  temporary  chairman  made  what  was  designed  to 
be  the  opening  speech  of  the  campaign.  The  speech  was 
somewhat  lengthy,  and  during  the  time  of  its  delivery  the  dele- 
gates who  were  ill-natured  had  time  to  think  a  little ;  so  that 
when  it  came  to  the  appointment  of  the  committee  on  cre- 
dentials the  expected  disturbance  did  not  occur. 

The  arrangement  finally  settled  upon  was  that  seven  men 
selected  by  the  Collins  leaders  and  seven  by  the  Dunn  leaders, 
with  one  from  the  supporters  of  Eddy,  should  compose  a  com- 
mittee on  credentials.     The  names  agreed  upon  by  each  fac- 


332  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

tion  were  handed  to  Senator  Clapp.  This  made  a  committee 
of  15.  The  representative  of  Mr.  Eddy  selected  was  Senator 
Ward,  of  Alexandria.  Senator  Ward  was  believed  to  be  at 
heart  a  supporter  of  Collins,  but  as  he  came  from  the  home 
city  of  Hon.  Knute  Nelson,  United  States  Senator,  he  had 
kept  out  of  the  heated  part  of  the  contest  by  being  for  Eddy. 
This  was  believed  to  be  shrewd  politics  on  the  part  of  Senator 
Nelson ;  because  when  a  man  of  the  prominence  of  Senator 
Nelson  and  the  political  power  he  has  is  represented  from  his 
own  town  by  a  politician  having  certain  leanings,  it  is,  right- 
fully or  wrongfully  assumed  that  that  politician  represents  the 
sentiments  of  the  Senator.  No  man  in  Alexandria  can  afford 
to  lock  horns  with  vSenator  Nelson  in  a  political  contest  and 
longer  remain  in  political  life.  I  take  it  that  Senator  Ward 
still  has  further  ambitions,  and  consequently  he  was  very 
willing  to  be  counted  in  the  Eddy  ranks  and  keep  out  of  the 
fight  between  the  two  leading  candidates.  This  committee 
in  reality  reminds  one  of  the  eight  to  seven  Electoral  Com- 
mission. Both  the  Dunn  and  Collins  men  recognized  that 
while  the  committee  had  been  made  up  on  the  surface  with 
a  spirit  of  fairness,  it  actually  stood  eight  to  seven  in  favor  of 
Collins.  The  Collins  men  were  accordingly  jubilant,  and  the 
Dunn  men  grew  a  little  more  beligerent,  talking  about  taking 
matters  in  their  own  hands  if  they  were  likely  to  be  defeated 
by  an  eight  to  seven  decision. 

Everybody  who  knew  anything  about  politics  understood 
that  the  whole  convention — the  ticket  and  the  future  success 
of  the  Republican  party — rested  with  the  credentials  commit- 
tee. The  campaign  had  been  too  long,  too  bitter  and  too  ex- 
citing for  either  side  to  be  willing  to  lose  its  grip  if  there  was 
the  slightest  chance  for  a  scrimmage,  with  a  reasonable  basis 
to  stand  upon. 

The  credentials  committee  was  called  to  meet  immediately 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  convention  at  the  Ryan  Hotels 
and  a  recess  was  taken  until  later  in  the  day.  When  the  con- 
vention met  in  the  afternoon  the  credentials  committee,  of 
course,  was  not  ready  to  report.  A  committee  on  platform 
had  also  been  appointed,  but  that  too,  was  not  ready  to  report. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  333 

and  consequently  an  adjournment  was  taken  until  the  next 
day.  The  credentials  committee  remained  in  session  until 
2 130  in  the  morning,  but  when  the  convention  met  again  they 
were  still  unable  to  report.  They  had  taken  a  large  amount 
of  testimony  and  heard  the  statements  of  both  sides  with  much 
patience,  but  still  had  not  reached  an  absolute  conclusion. 

The  convention  assembled  at  9  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
July  1st  with  a  very  impatient  and  uneasy  feeling.  It  was 
generally  understood  that  the  credentials  committee  was  not 
ready  to  report,  and  there  was  quite  a  strong  sentiment  prev- 
alent in  favor  of  going  ahead  without  apy  report  from  the 
committee  on  credentials,  which  would  have  been  another 
fire-brand  and  resulted  in  two  conventions.  It  is  probably 
due  to  Senator  Clapp's  finesse  as  a  presiding  officer  that  this 
turbulent  feeling  was  smothered.  He  suggested  some  little 
matters  of  business  which  could  be  attended  to,  independent 
of  the  great  central  work  of  the  convention,  and  called  for  a 
few  speeches  to  briefly  entertain  the  convention,  at  the  same 
time  announcing  that  the  credentials  committee  would  be 
ready  to  report  at  2  p.  m.,  and  he  thought  a  recess  ought  to 
be  taken  until  that  time.  His  remarks  were  of  a  very  pacifi- 
catory character,  and  still  no  one  proposed  the  recess  which 
he  suggested.  For  perhaps  half  an  hour  the  convention  was 
on  the  verge  of  an  explosion,  and  it  was  a  wonder  to  me,  in 
view  of  other  similar  situations  I  have  seen,  that  someone  did 
not  fire  the  bomb  which  would  have  resulted  in  aisaster. 
After  the  few  matters  of  business  which  the  chairman  sug- 
gested, and  no  one  seeming  willing  to  move  a  recess,  Chair- 
man Clapp  was  anxiously  casting  about  for  some  method  of 
murdering  a  little  more  time  to  keep  the  convention  quiet, 
and,  espying  me  on  the  platform,  said  he  would  like  to  call 
upon  me  for  a  short  speech.  With  the  usual  apologetic  an- 
nouncement to  him  that  "this  is  so  sudden"  I  told  him  I  was 
interested  in  saving  the  party  and  would  help  him  out.  He 
accordingly  introduced  me,  and  I  occupied  a  few  minutes, 
though  the  newspapers  with  their  usual  good  judgment  and 
discrimination  did  not  attempt  a  report  of  what  I  said.  Con- 
sequently, as  the  last  and  only  opportunity  of  handing  my 
remarks  down  to  posterity,  as  well  as  an  opportunity  which 


334  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

I  cannot  resist,  of  a  "scoop,"  I  inscribe  them  here.     They  were 
substantially  as  follows: 

A  free  and  independent  American  citizen,  acknowledging  allegiance 
to  no  one  but  God,  I  feel  entirely  at  home  in  standing  before  a  great 
Republican  convention.  Born  and  reared  upon  the  line  of  the  "under- 
ground railway,"  I  early  imbibed  the  principles  of  freedom  which  formed 
the  corner-stone  of  the  foundation  of  the  Republican  party.  In  1872, 
following  in  the  wake  of  eminent  Republican  leaders,  I  joined  in  the 
revolt  against  the  re-election  of  that  great  military  chieftan.  General 
Grant,  since  which  time  I  have  been  a  sort  of  rudderless  ship  upon  the 
political  sea.  A  year  or  so  ago,  I  concluded  to  return  to  my  first  love, 
though  this  has  not  been  very  generally  known.  During  the  past  two 
days  I  have  watched  with  much  interest  the  contest  now  in  progress  in 
this  convention,  and  I  have  said  to  my  friends,  "For  God's  sake,  don't 
smash  the  grand  old  party  now;  I've  just  got  back.  Hold  it  together  a 
little  longer  and  give  me  a  chance." 

Up  to  this  hour  my  advice  seems  to  have  been  followed,  and  I 
accordingly  congratulate  myself  that,  though  an  eleventh  hour  repen- 
tant, I  have  succeeded  in  doing  some  penance  by  saving  the  party.  I 
congratulate  the  party  upon  my  return,  and  I  congratulate  myself  much 
more  than  I  do  the  party.  I  hope  that  in  the  remainder  of  your  delibera- 
tions you  will  exercise  wisdom,  prudence  and  discretion.  Keep  cool — 
do  not  loose  your  heads — and  all  will  be  well  in  the  end. 

Now  I  know  you  are  anxious  to  proceed  with  business,  and  I  will 
not  longer  detain  you.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen  of  the  convention,  most 
sincerely  for  the  opportunity  you  have  had  to  listen  to  me. 

When  I  concluded,  some  good-natured  delegate  arose  and 
made  the  motion  which  Senator  Clapp  so  much  desired  for  a 
recess  until  2  p.  m.  While  there  were  some  negative  votes,  in 
fact  a  good  many,  the  chair  did  not  hesitate,  after  a  little  de- 
liberation, to  announce  that  the  motion  had  carried.  The  con- 
vention had  taken  my  advice. 

At  2  p.  m.,  when  the  convention  re-assembled,  there  was 
still  delay,  the  credentials  committee  still  being  in  session,  but 
the  chair  announced  that  they  had  concluded  their  taking  of 
the  evidence  and  were  now  engaged  in  voting  upon  their  de- 
cisions, and  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  less  would  be  ready 
to  make  their  final  report.  The  convention  was  quiet  and  or- 
derly, but  was  on  the  verge  of  another  explosion  as  the  dele- 
gates were  tired  of  the  delay,  as  well  as  excited  over  the  prob- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  335 

able  result  of  the  nomination.  They  were  anxious  to  con- 
clude the  convention  with  the  second  day  and  get  home. 
Some  of  them  were  short  of  funds,  and  it  was  not  uncommon 
to  hear  a  delegate  declare  that  if  the  convention  did  not  pro- 
ceed to  business  he  would  go  home,  convention  or  no  conven- 
tion. Senator  Clapp  managed  to  work  in  a  few  more  pleas- 
ant speeches,  J.  Adam  Bede  and  W.  I.  Nolan  responding, 
and  suggested  one  or  two  other  motions  which  looked  like 
business,  though  they  really  were  of  no  consequence,  quiet- 
ing down  the  delegates  by  an  announcement  every  few  min- 
utes of  reports  from  the  credentials  committee  across  the 
street  in  the  Ryan  Hotel,  stating  how  they  were  progress- 
ing. •The  matter  was  growing  critical,  however,  and  it  is 
questionable  whether,  with  all  his  suaveness.  Senator  Clapp 
could  have  kept  the  convention  quiet  much  longer.  Judge 
Jamison,  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee,  was  sent 
as  a  messenger  to  the  credentials  committee  to  ascertain  what 
they  were  doing.  This  fact  was  announced,  and  in  a  short 
time  Judge  Jamison  reported  to  the  effect  that  the  commit- 
tee would  be  ready  in  half  an  hour.  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  talk  at  this  time  among  the  delegates  of  taking  the  bit  in 
their  teeth  and  going  ahead  with  the  convention,  but  better 
counsels  prevailed  and  the  afternoon  dragged  along,  so  that  it 
was  nearly  4  o'clock  before  the  credentials  committee  were 
absolutely  ready  to  report. 

The  report  was  exactly  what  everybody  expected  it  would 
be — an  8  to  7  report  in  favor  of  the  Collins  forces.  Sena- 
tor Ward  had  proved  the  Judge  Bradley  of  the  committee. 
Judge  Bradley  having  cast  the  decisive  vote  which  made 
Hayes  President  of  the  United  States.  And  then  the  real  fight 
began.  By  a  sort  of  common  consent  the  contesting  Dunn 
delegates  from  Ramsey  County  abandoned  the  fight,  and  the 
credentials  committee  had  unanimously  decided  to  admit  the 
Collins  delegates  from  Ramsey  County. 

Everybody  recognized  that  this  decision  was  really  just. 
The  Dunn  delegates  in  Ramsey  County  had  been  too  impetu- 
ous in  leaving  the  county  convention  to  have  solid  ground 
to  stand  upon.     They  should  have  stayed  in  the  hall  where 


336  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

the  Ramsey  County  convention  was  called  to  be  held  and 
fought  it  out  on  the  floor.  Instead  of  this,  however,  they  with- 
drew early  in  the  proceedings.  The  Collins  men  had  con- 
trol of  the  machinery  of  the  Ramsey  County  convention,  and 
before  it  had  concluded  would  have  given  abundant  reason 
for  the  withdrawal  of  the  Dunn  delegates.  But  the  Dunn 
faction,  knowing  they  were  beaten,  lost  their  heads  in  anger 
and  withdrew  from  the  Ramsey  County  convention  before 
the  Collins  delegates  had  had  an  opportunity  to  show  their 
arbitrary  spirit,  and  their  rule  or  ruin  intentions.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  when  it  became  whispered  about  through 
the  convention  that  Ramsey  County  had  been  turned  over  to 
Collins,  even  the  unseated  Dunn  delegates  did  not  mtirmur. 
"Served  them  right"  was  the  popular  verdict.  But  'when  it 
►  came  to  Hennepin  County  the  situation  was  different. 

The  Dunn  delegates  in  Hennepin  County  had  remained 
in  the  county  convention  and  fought  it  out,  and  by  political 
rules  had  some  basis  to  stand  upon.  The  seven  Dunn  men 
on  the  credentials  committee  had  accordingly  decided  to  make 
their  fight  upon  the  Hennepin  delegation  of  113  members,  and 
allow  Collins  to  take  the  6^]  delegates  from  Ramsey  County. 
In  order  to  seem  real  fair  the  Collins  delegates  on  the  cre- 
dential committee  allowed  the  Dunn  members  of  the  creden- 
tials committee  to  take  Anoka,  Benton,  Qearwater,  Red 
Lake,  Sherburne  and  Traverse  Counties,  a  total  of  52;  while 
the  eight  Collins  men  on  the  credentials  committee  demand- 
ed Beltrami,  Cass,  Hennepin  and  Ramsey,  a  total  of  198,  for 
Collins. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  only  thing  for  the  cre- 
dentials committee  to  do  was  to  submit  a  majority  and  a 
minority  report.  No  one  cared  much  about  the  little  coun- 
ties, but  the  113  delegates  from  Hennepin  County  was  too 
big  a  prize  to  be  lost  by  either  side  if  success  was  to  be  hoped 
for.  Senator  Ward  presented  the  majority  report  of  the 
committee  seating  the  Collins  delegation  from  Hennepin 
County  as  well  as  the  Collins  delegation  from  Ramsey  Coun- 
ty. It  was  a  sure  enough  8  to  7  report,  as  everybody  expected. 
W.  B.  Anderson,  of  Winona,  presented  the  minority  report 
which,  like  the  majority,  gave  the  67  Ramsey  men  to  Col- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  337 

lins,  but  took  the  113  Hennepin  County  men  for  Dunn.  And 
now  the  crucial  period  of  the  convention  had  been  reached. 
The  hot-heads  among  the  Collins  forces  had  wanted  to  allow 
Hennepin  County  to  vote  on  this  majority  report  in  favor 
of  seating  themselves.  To  show  how  a  little  thing  may  carry 
great  results,  some  delegate  arose  and  asked  Senator  Clapp 
whether  Hennepin  County  would  be  allowed  to  vote  upon  the 
respective  reports  of  the  credentials  committee.  Senator 
Clapp  promptly  replied,  "Certainly  NOT."  There  was  a 
sort  of  emphasis  and  decision  in  his  very  tone  of  voice,  es- 
pecially on  the  ''not"  which  carried  weight  with  it,  and  really 
those  two  words  probably  had  more  to  do  with  keeping  the 
convention  from  splitting  and  nominating  two  candidates 
for  Governor  than  all  the  other  words  uttered  in  that  conven- 
tion. If  Clapp  had  arranged  to  be  asked  the  question  he 
could  not  have  done  the  part  better.  The  decision  was  so  emi- 
nently just  that  the  most  impulsive  man  did  not  have  the 
cheek  to  rise  and  enter  a  protest.  The  result  was  that  it 
stood,  and  the  Dunn  men,  of  course,  did  not  object  because 
they  believed  they  had  the  strength  to  carry  the  minority 
report  independent  of  Hennepin  County  voting  upon  the  ques- 
tion. 

There  was  first  an  attempt  made  to  act  upon  the  re- 
spective reports  of  the  committee  on  credentials  by  viva  voce 
vote,  but  in  a  body  of  1,175  men,  with  each  voter  nerved  up 
to  the  point  of  yelling  the  loudest  for  the  side  he  supported, 
it  was  impossible  to  determine  the  result  in  that  way.  Forty 
minutes  were  given  to  each  side  to  present  its  case  to  the  con- 
vention. As  it  was  nearly  4  o'clock  when  the  committee 
reported,  it  was  nearly  6  when  the  speech-making  was  con- 
cluded. Roll-calls  and  lead  pencils  were  in  active  demand 
to  watch  the  vote  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Anderson  that  the 
minority  report  be  adopted  instead  of  the  majority  report 
of  the  committee  on  credentials.  That  vote  would  determine 
the  whole  case.  Everyone  understood  this,  and  the  tension 
was  something  intense  as  the  respective  counties  were  called. 
When  the  secretaries  had  the  tally  sheets  completed,  it  show- 
ed   that   the   minority   report   unseating  the    Collins   Henne- 

22 


338  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

pin  County  delegation  and  seating  the  113  Dunn  men  had 
been  adopted  by  6223^  to  4505^.  A  considerable  time  before 
this  was  officially  announced  the  delegates  who  had  kept 
tally  knew  the  result,  and  the  convention  for  a  few  minutes 
went  mad,  at  least  the  Dunn  portion  of  it.  They  knew  the 
fight  was  over  and  that  Dunn  had  won.  The  Collins  men 
were  sufficiently  parafyzed  to  keep  quiet,  and  the  Dunn  men 
had  the  shouting  all  to  themselves,  and  only  stopped  when 
the  secretaries  had  the  footings  made  to  hear  the  official  an- 
nouncement. 

Grimshaw,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Collins  delegation 
from  Hennepin  County,  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
permanent  organization.  But  after  the  adoption  of  that  re- 
port he  was  no  longer  a  member  of  the  convention.  There 
was  a  sadness  in  his  voice  when  he  arose  and  announced 
that,  being  no  longer  a  member  of  the  convention,  he  could 
not  make  the  report  from  the  committee  on  permanent  or- 
ganization, but  delegated  it  to  Senator  Horton,  of  Ramsey, 
to  present  for  the  committee.  He  also  made  a  graceful  little 
speech  which  won  him  much  sympathy,  and  caused  him  to 
be  forgiven  for  his  previous  impetuosity.  He  announced 
that  the  Hennepin  delegation  bowed  to  the  will  of  the  ma- 
jority and  would  now  retire  from  the  convention  in  favor 
of  the  other  delegation.  And  so  the  113  Collins  delegates 
walked  out  into  the  street  or  gallery. 

For  three  days  and  nights  the  Dunn  delegation  from  Hen- 
nepin County  had  been  parading  the  streets,  carrying  a  large 
banner,  ''Hennepin  County  for  Dunn,"  and  headed  by  a 
brass  band.  Just  before  each  session  of  the  convention  this 
procession,  which  looked  more  like  strolling  tatterdemalions 
than  real  delegates,  formed  with  their  band  at  the  Mer- 
chants Hotel  and  marched  up  Jackson  street  past  the  Ryan 
Hotel  and  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  where  the  conven- 
tion was  to  meet,  on  up  Sixth  street  to  the  Windsor  Hotel, 
which  was  inhabited  by  a  large  number  of  delegates,  and  then 
back  to  the  Opera  House  to  take  seats  in  the  gallery.  This 
march  was  evidently  for  effect  upon  the  country  delegates. 
Accordingly,  when  they  were  finally  seated,  their  leader  still 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  339 

carried  the  big  banner  and  walked  from  the  gallery  to  the 
floor  of  the  convention  with  the  placard  announcing  "Henne- 
pin for  Dunn."  This  time  it  really  was,  and  the  Dunn  victors 
greeted  that  banner  with  as  vigorous  a  yell  as  they  were  able  to 
make  in  their  somewhat  exhausted  condition.  The  applause 
was  even  more  vociferous  than  when  the  vote  was  announced 
by  which  the  minority  report  of  the  committee  on  credentials 
was  subsituted  for  the  majority.  After  this  the  proceedings 
were  tame  and  uninteresting.  The  convention  began  the 
speeches  for  candidates  for  supreme  judges,  but  soon  took  a 
recess  until  evening  in  order  to  liquidate  their  joy.  A  good 
many  were  already  thirsty,  and  those  who  were  disappointed 
wanted  to  get  hold  of  something  to  drown  their  sorrow.  Con- 
sequently there  was  no  objection  to  an  adjournment  this  time. 
At  the  evening  session  the  continuation  of  the  speeches 
nominating  supreme  court  judges  was  the  first  order  of  the 
exercises.  There  were  four  judges  to  be  nominated — three  to 
take  their  seats  the  first  of  January,  1906,  and  one  to  take  his 
seat  the  first  of  January,  1905.  Judges  Lovely,  Brown  and 
Lewis  were  the  incumbents,  and  they  were  all  put  into  the 
field  for  re-election  for  the  term  beginning  January  i,  1906. 
Their  only  competitor  was  Charles  B.  Elliott,  of  Minneapolis, 
who  was  entered  in  the  same  class.  After  a  dull  and  tedious 
roll  call,  it  was  whispered  about  the  convention  that  all  three 
of  the  old  judges  had  been  nominated.  The  fact  was  that 
Lovely  had  won  on  the  first  roll  call  by  11  votes,  which  was 
very  close  in  a  convention  of  nearly  1,200  men.  Unfortunate- 
ly for  Lovely  there  were  113  Hennepin  County  men  ready  to 
trade  for  Elliott.  The  tellers  were  exasperatingly  slow.  They 
could  scarcely  have  been  more  stupid.  The  veriest  school-boy 
could  have  footed  the  columns  of  figures  quicker  than  they 
did.  The  result  was  that  it  gave  Hennepin  County  ample 
time  to  make  its  trades.  Every  little  while  a  delegate  would 
bob  up  and  change  a  few  votes  from  Lovely  to  Elliott.  When 
the  final  vote  was  at  last  given  out  officially  it  stood :  Lovely, 
717;  Brown,  1,099;  Lewis,  974;  Elliott,  739.  Elliott  had  won 
by  only  22  votes  after  all.  Lovely's  defeat  can  be  set  down 
as  an  accident  rather  than  as  intentional. 


340  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

On  the  judgeship  to  take  his  seat  in  Januaty,  1905,  there 
were  three  candidates :  Judge  Douglas  (formerly  attorney 
general),  D.  B.  Searle,  of  St.  Cloud,  and  E.  A.  Jaggard,  of 
St.  Paul.  There  had  been  talk  of  Searle  being  a  candidate 
earlier  in  the  canvass,  but  as  he  came  from  St.  Cloud  his  can- 
didacy was  held  in  the  back-ground  lest  it  damage  Judge  Col- 
lins, whose  home  was  in  the  same  city.  The  Collins  men 
charged  the  talk  of  Searles  up  to  the  Dunn  men.  After  the 
roll  call  and  the  long  wait  for  the  tellers,  the  official  announce- 
ment was  made  as  follows  :  Jaggard,  637 ;  Searles,  351 ;  Doug- 
las, 2^]^. 

The  Dunn  men  offered  Judge  Douglas  their  support  if  he 
would  give  them  his  home  county,  Clay,  with  its  13  votes.  He 
declined.  They  became  so  anxious  that  they  renewed  the 
ofifer  if  he  would  give  them  one-half  of  the  Clay  County  dele- 
gation. Such  an  offer  would  indicate  that  the  Dunn  forces 
did  not  feel  quite  as  sure  of  their  strength  as  they  claimed. 
It  is  to  Judge  Douglas'  credit  that  he  declined  to  buy  a  judge- 
ship by  a  trade,  and  he  went  down  to  defeat  with  his  colors 
flying.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  it  was  the  railroads  which 
defeated  him. 

Searle  had  made  a  remarkable  run  for  a  five-minute  can- 
didate. Douglas  attributed  his  defeat  to  his  hostility  to  the 
"merger."  He  simply  went  down  with  the  Van  Sant  ma- 
chine, which  was  the  natural  and  expected  result  of  politics. 
Van  Sant  and  the  officers  at  the  State  House  had  all  been 
ardent  supporters  of  Judge  Collins.  Attorney  General  Dona- 
hower,  prior  to  his  appointment  to  fill  General  Douglas'  place, 
was  ranked  as  a  Dunn  man ;  but  as  soon  as  he  went  into  the 
Van  Sant  official  family  he  became  a  Collins  supporter.  It 
was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  when  the  administra- 
tion machine  had  been  smashed  to  wipe  it  entirely  off  the 
earth.  It  was  simply  the  personal  ijiisfortune  of  Douglas  and 
Donahower  that  at  that  time  they  were  part  of  the  machine. 
When  the  convention  met  I  would  not  have  given  a  picayune 
for  the  chances  of  Ed.  Young,  of  Appleton,  securing  the  at- 
torney-generalship, but  the  turn  of  the  wheel  that  downed  the 
administration  machine  was  his  good  forune  and  Donahow- 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  341 

er's  misfortune,  with  the  result  that  the  vote  stood  for  attor- 
ney general :    Donahower,  394 ;  Young,  784. 

Following  the  nomination  of  judges  came  the  gubernatorial 
nomination  which  was  the  great  prize  which  had  made  all  the 
trouble  for  six  months  previously.  When  this  climax  was 
absolutely  reached  in  the  convention  there  was  no  interest  in 
the  matter  whatever.  Everybody  knew  after  the  credentials 
committee  report  had  been  adopted  that  it  was  a  mere  mat- 
ter of  form.  The  consequence  was  that  when  James  A.  Peter- 
son, of  Minneapolis,  arose  to  nominate  Robert  C.  Dunn,  for 
Governor,  which  he  did  in  a  ringing  speech,  but  little  interest 
was  taken ;  and  before  the  roll  could  be  called  James  A.  Mar- 
tin, of  St.  Qoud,  who-  had  been  Judge  Collins'  manager 
through  the  heated  campaign,  moved  to  make  the  nomination 
by  acclamation.  Senator  Reeves,  of  Glenwood,  who  was  the 
special  representative  of  Congressman  Eddy,  seconded  the  mo- 
tion of  Martin,  and  in  about  a  minute  the  thing  was  over,  and 
Mr.  Dunn  was  nominated  by  acclamation,  an  event  which  he 
and  his  friends  predicted  many  months  before,  but  without 
imagining  it  would  come  just  as  it  did.  It  was  a  close  ques- 
tion whether  it  would  come  at  all  for  a  good  while. 

Concluding  the  ticket  was  a  very  perfunctory  matter.  Ray 
Jones,  of  Minneapolis,  was  nominated  for  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor, and  Peter  E.  Hanson,  of  Meeker  County,  for  Secretary 
of  State,  without  opposition.  State  Treasurer  Block  had  a 
little  fight  on  his  hands,  but  scored  nearly  a  thousand  votes. 
His  opponents  were  simply  in  training  for  the  future,  and 
wanted  to  have  the  prestige  of  being  in  the  "also  ran"  class, 
and  defeated,  to  use  in  some  other  convention.  It  probably 
pleased  them,  but  delayed  the  convention  a  little. 

The  Railroad  &  Warehouse  Commissioners,  two  of  which 
were  to  be  nominated,  caused  the  only  remaining  contest,  Ira 
B.  Mills,  of  Clay  County,  and  W.  E.  Young,  of  Blue  Earth, 
being  nominated.  Mr.  Mills  was  already  a  member  of  the 
commission,  and  it  was  given  out  in  advance  very  decidely 
that  he  was  to  be  shelved.  There  are,  however,  but  few  men 
in  the  state  as  well  versed  in  the  manipulation  of  politics  as 
Mr.  Mills.    The  result,  to  the  surprise  of  a  great  many  people, 


342  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

was  that  he  was  one  of  the  two  successful  men,  though  there 
were  seven  candidates  in  the  field. 

Mr.  Dunn  was,  of  course,  brought  in  to  accept.  There 
were  no  fears  that  he  would  decline,  so  that  there  was  no  very 
intense  excitement  when  he  was  seen  coming  up  the  aisle  to 
the  platform.  His  speech  was  quite  brief,  but  in  very  good 
taste  and  temper.  The  salient  point,  and  the  one  that  struck 
the  most  responsive  chord  among  the  delegates  was  that  he 
"knew  his  friends,  and  would  not  forget  them."  Perhaps  if 
he  had  not  stated  that  he  knew  his  friends  every  delegate  in 
the  convention  would  have  claimed  at  that  particular  mo- 
ment to  be  one  of  them.  But  he  rather  estopped  eleventh 
hour  conversions  by  those  words. 

Senator  Clapp  had  been  made  permanent  chairman  at  an 
early  stage  of  the  proceedings  after  the  credentials  commit- 
tee reported,  and  took  charge  of  the  convention  to  the  last, 
which  was  until  nearly  2  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  is  due 
him  to  say  that  he  handled  himself  and  the  convention  ad- 
mirably and  won  hosts  of  friends  in  a  very  trying  position. 
If  he  had  been  arbitrary  and  unfair,  the  convention  would  have 
been  twins  at  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings,  and  Senator 
Clapp's  chances  would  have  suffered  with  those  of  the  rest 
of  the  party,  so  that  he  was  wise  in  his  own  interests. 

After  it  was  all  over,  there  was,  of  course,  the  usual  sore 
spots,  but  it  is  rare  that  anything  formidable  comes  from 
after-convention  soreness.  I  have  been  on  the  sore  side  of 
politics  nearly  all  my  life,  and  I  give  it  as  my  calm  judgment 
that  "it  don't  pay."  In  a  little  while  the  only  fellows  who 
know  there  is  any  soreness  are  those  who  sit  around  and  rub 
their  sore  spots  just  to  feel  them  itch.  It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  there  are  six  thousand  local  office-holders  in  Minne- 
sota, everyone  of  whom  is  a  local  politician  and  is  working 
for  his  personal  bread  and  butter.  His  success  depends  upon 
keeping  up  the  machinery  of  the  party.  He  can  not  afford  to 
be  sore,  and  he  is  not.  He  wants  to  be  re-elected  or  grab  a 
new  hold  on  the  official  teat  if  he  has  not  yet  obtained  a  grip. 
He  is  bound  by  self  interest  to  work  for  the  party.  So  that 
1  summarize  my  advice  to  those  who  are  sore,  not  only  in  this 
but  on  any  future  similar  occasion,  thus : 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  343 

1.  Let  the  canker  of  defeat  gnaw  your  heart  strings  in 
secret. 

2.  Do  not  wear  your  heart  upon  your  sleeve  for  daws  to 
peck  at. 

3.  Go  to  the  gallows  with  a  smile  on  your  face.  You  will 
look  just  as  sweet  as  an  angel. 

The  November  sequel  can,  perhaps,  easily  be  prophesied; 
but  as  I  am  a  historian  at  this  time  rather  than  a  prophet,  I 
will  let  that  take  care  of  itself. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  when  Judge  Collins  announced 
his  candidacy  in  November,  1903,  he  had  the  slightest  inten- 
tion of  resigning  from  the  Supreme  bench  where  he  still  had 
three  years  to  serve  at  a  salary  of  $5,000  per  year.  He  had 
twice  before  gone  into  State  conventions  as  a  gubernatorial 
candidate  without  resigning  his  judicial  position,  but  this  time 
his  friends  insisted  on  his  resigning  as  a  condition  of  their 
support.  They  felt  that  his  retention  of  the  judgeship  would 
prove  fatalj  and  did  not  care  to  attach  themselves  to  a  lost 
cause.  He  accordingly  tendered  his  resignation  during  the 
winter  to  take  effect  March  31,  1904.  He  did  his  best,  and 
his  ambitions  are  doubtless  more  tranquil  than  if  he  had  not 
had  the  experience.  He  can  soliloquize,  'Tis  better  to  have 
fought  and  lost,  than  never  to  have  fought  at  all.  The  fun  of 
the  experience  is  a  permanency,  for  him. 

James  A.  Martin  made  a  most  admirable  campaign  man- 
ager for  Judge  Collins.  The  near  approach  of  Judge  Collins 
to  success  was  largely  due  to  Mr.  Martin's  management.  He, 
too,  was  a  sufferer,  as  he  was  holding  a  $3,500  position  on  the 
Board  of  Control,  which  he  resigned  to  go  into  the  fight.  He 
simply  bet  on  the  roulette  wheel  of  politics,  but  picked  the 
wrong  color.     The  wheel  still  goes  around. 

Governor  Van  Sant  was  an  interested  spectator  from  one 
of  the  boxes  during  the  session  of  the  convention,  and  there 
are  those  who  confidently  assert  that  he  entertained  a  linger- 
ing hope  that  in  the  hot  fight  in  progress,  he  might  again  be 
called  to  lead  the  party  by  a  popular  uprising  of  the  conven- 
tion. While  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  have  responded  favor- 
ably to  such  an  uprising  if  it  had  come,  I  am  also  aware  that 
there  were  personal  and  altogether  creditable  reasons  which 


344  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

prevented  Governor  Van  Sant  from  being  a  formal  aspirant 
for  a  third  term,  and  still  I  believe  there  was  the  ''lingering 
hope."  With  two  such  pledged  and  pronounced  anti-merger 
candidates  as  Dunn  and  Collins,  Van  Sant  was  crowded  off  the 
earth,  so  to  speak. 

The  sun  has  risen  and  set  during  every  24  hours  since  the 
convention,  and  may  continue  to  do  so  for  several  moons. 

That  convention  was  only  an  atom  of  temporary  dust  on 
the  fly  wheel  of  a  great  and  cold  blooded  world. 

The  delegates  have  to  smell  their  own  breath  to  know  they 
were  ever  in  St.  Paul. 

Sic  transit. 


OBSERVATION  FORTY-SEVEN. 


Resume  of  State  Elections  for  50  Years. 


1857. 


At  the  first  election  for  governor  there  were  cast  35,340 
votes,  of  which  H.  H.  Sibley  (Dem.)  received  17,790,  and  Alex. 
Ramsey  (Rep.)  17,550,  a  Democratic  majority  of  240. 

This  was  the  first  and  only  governor  of  Minnesota  the  Demo- 
crats elected  until  1898,  41  years  later,  when  John  Lind  (Dem.) 
was  chosen. 

1859- 

Two  years  later  there  had  been  an  increase  in  poulation,  and 
38,917  votes  were  cast.  Ramsey  was  again  in  the  field  for  gov- 
ernor and  received  21,335  votes,  while  George  L.  Becker  (Dem.) 
had  17,582,  giving  Ramsey  a  majority  of  3,753. 

i860. 

The  first  presidential  election  in  this  state  was  in  i860,  and 
the  total  vote  cast  was  34,737.  Nothing  so  marks  the  depression 
in  business,  which  followed  the  panic  of  1857,  as  the  contract  of 
the  vote  in  the  state  election  of  1859  and  the  presidential  in  i860. 
It  is  proverbial  that  larger  votes  are  cast  presidential  years  than 
any  other,  but  in  this  case  i860  showed  4,180  less  than  in  1859. 
The  state  was  young,  and  had  been  growing  rapidly  prior  to  the 
financial  panic,  but  it  is  evident  by  this  vote  that  thousands 
sought  other  homes,  pf  the  i860  vote  Abraham  Lincoln  (Rep.) 
received  22,069,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  (Dem.)  11,920,  and  J.  C. 
Breckenridge  (Southern  Democrat)  748.  Lincoln's  plurality 
over  Douglas  was  10,149  and  majority  over  both  9,401. 

(846) 


346  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

1861. 

At  the  gubernatorial  election  this  year  only  26,722  votes 
were  cast,  the  smallest  number  polled  since  Minnesota  was  a 
state.  This  indicates  that  the  population  continued  to  decrease 
for  at  least  four  years  after  the  panic  of  1857.  Ramsey  was  again 
a  candidate  for  governor,  receiving  16,274  votes  to  10,448  for  E. 
O.  Hamblin  (Dem.).     Ramsey's  majority  was  5,726. 

1863. 

The  era  of  recuperation  had  evidently  begun,  and  32,467 
votes  were  cast  for  governor,  Stephen  Miller  (Rep.)  who  received 
19,628,  and  H.  T.  Wells  (Dem.)  12,739.     Miller's  majority  6,889. 

1864. 

The  second  presidential  election  in  which  Minnesota  partici- 
pated 42,422  votes  were  cast.  Though  this  was  nearly  8,000 
votes  in  excess  of  i860  the  Republican  majority  was  much  smaller 
than  in  that  year.  The  vote  stood,  Lincoln  25,055 ;  McClellan 
(Dem.)  17,367.     Lincoln's  majority  7,688. 

1865. 

Only  31,160  votes  were  cast  for  governor  in  1865,  nearly 
11,000  less  than  for  president  in  1864.  W.  R.  Marshall  (Rep.) 
received  17,318.  H.  M.  Rice  (Dem.)  13,842.  Marshall's 
majority  3,476. 

1867. 

There  was  a  marked  progress  in  population  between  1865  and 
1867,  64,376  votes  being  cast  the  latter  year.  Marshall  was  again 
a  candidate  for  governor,  receiving  34,874  (which  was  more 
than  the  entire  vote  of  the  state  in  1865),  while  C.  E.  Flandrau 
(Dem.)  received  29,502.     Marshall's  majority  5,372. 

1868. 

In  1868,  71,818  votes  were  cast  for  president.  General  Grant, 
(Rep.)  receiving  43,722,  and  Horatio  Seymour  (Dem.)  28,096. 
Grant's  majority  15,626. 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  347 

1869. 

The  Prohibitionists  had  their  first  gubernatorial  candidate  in 
1869,  and  the  RepubUcans  had  the  smallest  majority  that  year 
of  any  recorded  duHng  their  victorious  career.  There  was  a 
marked  falling  off  in  the  vote,  only  54,513  being  cast.  Horace 
Austin  (Rep.)  received  27,348,  George  L.  Otis  (Dem.)  25,401, 
Daniel  Cobb  (Pro.)  1,764.  Austin's  plurality  over  Otis,  1,947, 
and  a  majority  over  both  183. 

1871. 

A  wonderful  jump  in  two  years  is  recorded  by  the  vote  of 
1871,  which  was  78,172.  Governor  Austin  was  running  for  his 
second  term,  and  received  46,950,  Winthrop  Young  (Dem.) 
30^376,  Samuel  Mayall  (Pro.)  846.  Austin  over  Young,  6,574; 
over  both,  5,728. 

1872. 

The  year  1872  was  memorable  for  the  Grant  and  Greeley 
presidential  campaign.  90,919  votes  were  cast.  Grant  receiving 
55,708,  Horace  Greeley  (Ind.  Dem.)  35,211.  Grant's  majority 
20,497. 

1873. 

There  was  the  usual  falling  off  from  the  presidential  year  in 
1873,  only  77,022  votes  being  cast.  C.  K.  Davis  (Rep.)  had 
40,741,  Ara  Barton  (Dem.)  35,245,  S.  Mayall,  (Pro.)  1,036. 
Davis  over  Barton  5,496,  over  both  4,460. 

1875. 

The  total  vote  for  governor  was  84,017,  J.  S.  Pillsbury, 
Republican  gubernatorial  nominee,  receiving  47,073,  D.  L.  Buell 
(Dem.)  35,275,  and  R.  F.  Humiston  (Pro.)  1,669.  Pillsbury  over 
Buell  11,798,  over  both  10,129. 

1876. 

The  presidential  year  brought  out  123,931  votes.  R.  B. 
Hayes  (Rep.)  receiving  72,955,  S.  J.  Tilden  (Dem.)  48,587,  Peter 
Cooper  (Greenback)  2,389.  Hayes  over  Tilden  24,368,  over  both 
21,979. 


348  H.   P.   HALL'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

1877. 

There  were  no  side  issues  this  year,  only  Republicans  and 
Democrats  having  candidates  for  governor  in  the  field.  The 
vote,  as  usual,  fell  much  below  the  presidential  year,  only 
96,218  being  cast.  Governor  Pillsbury,  for  his  second  term, 
received  57,071,  W.  L.  Banning  (Dem.)  39,147.  Pillsbury's 
majority  17,924. 

1879. 

In  addition  to  the  two  regular  parties,  the  Prohibitionists 
and  Greenbackers  had  candidates  for  governor  in  the  field  in 
1879.  There  were  106,500  votes  cast,  Pillsbury  receiving  for  his 
third  term  57,524,  Edmund  Rice  (Dem.)  41,844,  William  Meig- 
hen  (Greenback)  4,264,  Satterlee  (Pro.)  2,868.  Pillsbury's 
plurality  over  Rice,  15,680,  his  majority  over  all  8,548. 

1880. 

The  presidential  contest  this  year  brought  out  what  was 
regarded  as  an  enormous  vote,  the  total  being  150,484.  James 
A.  Garfield  (Rep.)  received  93,902,  W.  S.  Hancock  (Dem.)  53,3 15^ 
J.  B.  Weaver  (Greenback)  3,267.  Garfield  over  Hancock  40,587,, 
over  both  37,320. 

1881. 

There  was  a  new  deal  in  1881,  General  Hubbard  being  the 
Republican  nominee  for  governor,  after  Pillsbury  had  served 
three  terms.  The  total  vote  cast  was  102,193,  Hubbard  receiv- 
ing 65,025,  and  Gen.  R.  W.  Johnson  (Dem.)  37,168.  Hubbard's 
majority  27,857. 

1883. 

In  1883  there  were  again  only  two  candidates  for  governor. 
The  total  vote  cast  was  130,713,  Hubbard  receiving  for  re-elec- 
tion 72,462,  and  A.  Bierman  (Dem.)  58,251.  Hubbard's  majority 
14,211.  Governor  Hubbard  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the 
only  governor  who  held  office  five  years.  The  odd  year  was 
produced  by  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  adopted  in 
1883,  which  extended  Hubbard's  term  one  year.     In  the  natural 


•     H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  349 

order  of  things  the  next  gubernatorial  election  would  have  been 
in  1885,  but  some  of  the  minor  officers  were  then  elected  every 
other  year,  so  that  there  was  no  year  without  a  state  election  ot 
some  description.  The  Constitutional  amendment  accordingly 
-extended  the  term  of  the  governor  and  several  other  state  officers 
one  year,  and  the  next  state  election  for  governor  was  held  in 
1886.  This  also  resulted  in  making  state  elections  every  presi- 
dential year,  which  had  not  been  the  case  heretofore,  and  since 
then  we  have  only  had  a  state  election  every  two  years. 

1884. 

In  1884  there  were  cast  for  presidential  candidates  190,017 
votes.  James  G.  Blaine  (Rep.)  received  111,685,  Grover  Cleve- 
land (Dem.)  70,065,  St.  John  (Pro.)  4,684,  B.  F.  Butler  (Green- 
back) 3,583.     Blaine  over  Cleveland  41,620,  over  all  33,353. 

1886. 

The  first  state  election  under  the  amended  Constitution, 
already  noted,  occurred  in  1886,  and  the  200,000  mark  was 
■passed,  220,558  being  the  total  vote.  A.  R.  McGill  (Rep.) 
received  107,064,  A.  A.  Ames  (Dem.)  104,464,  James  E.  Child 
(Pro.)  9,030.  McGilPs  plurality  over  Ames  was  2,600,  but  he 
lacked  6,430  of  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast. 

1888. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  state,  Minnesota  voted 
for  president  and  governor  together,  in  1888.  For  president 
.262,188  votes  were  cast,  Benjamin  Harrison  (Rep.)  receiving 
142,492,  Grover  Cleveland  (Dem.)  104,385,  Fisk  (Pro.)  15,311, 
Harrison  over  Cleveland  38,107,  over  both,  22,896.  It  is  worthy 
•of  note  that  Cleveland  lacked  just  79  votes  of  the  number  cast 
for  Ames,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor  two  years 
previous. 

For  governor,  261,632  votes  were  cast.  W.  R.  Merriam 
(Rep.)  had  134,355,  Eugene  M.  Wilson  (Dem.)  110,251,  Hugh 
Harrison  (Pro.)  17,026.  Merriam  over  Wilson  24,084,  over 
-both  7,058.     Merriam's  majority  was  14,023  less  than  President 


350  H.   P.   HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.    ' 

Harrison,  and  Hugh  Harrison,  the  Prohibition  candidate>  polled 
the  highest  vote  that  party  has  ever  cast  in  the  state. 

1890. 

A  new  factor  was  introduced  into  state  politics  in  1890,  what 
was  then  called  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  but  now  Populist  party, 
putting  a  ticket  in  the  field  for  the  first  time.  This  ticket  drew 
from  both  of  the  old  parties,  and  nearly  gave  the  state  to  the 
Democrats,  but  a  little  larger  proportion  of  the  Alliance  men 
came  from  the  Democratic  ranks,  and  hence  the  uniform  Repub- 
lican success  remained  unbroken.  The  total  vote  cast  was  240,- 
892,  of  which  Governor  Merriam,  who  was  a  candidate  for 
re-election,  received  88,111;  Thomas  Wilson  (Dem.)  85,844,  S. 
M.  Owen  (Alliance)  58,513,  James  P.  Pinkham  (Pro.)  8,424. 
While  the  combined  vote  for  the  candidates  other  than  Merriam 
was  152,781  against  him,  he  was,  nevertheless,  elected  by  a 
plurality  of  2,247  over  Wilson. 

1892. 

In  1892,  the  People's  or  Populist  party  appeared  for  the  first 
time  in  national  politics.  The  total  presidential  vote  was 
267,238,  Cleveland  (Dem.)  receiving  100,920,  Harrison  (Rep.) 
122,823,  J.  B.  Weaver  (People's)  29,313,  John  Bidwell  (Pro.) 
14,182.     Harrison's  plurality  over  Cleveland  21,903. 

There  were  four  candidates  for  governor  in  1892,  and  255,922 
votes  were  cast,  almost  12,000  less  than  for  president.  Knute 
Nelson  (Rep.)  had  109,220,  Daniel  W.  Lawler  (Dem.)  94,600, 
Ignatius  Donnelly  (People's)  39,862,  W.  J.  Dean  (Pro.)  12,239. 
While  the  combined  vote  was  146,701  against  Nelson,  he  still  had 
14,620  plurality  over  Lawler. 

1894. 

The  total  vote  cast  for  governor  in  1894  was  296,333,  the 
largest  vote  ever  polled  in  the  state  up  to  that  date.  The  Peo- 
ple's party  forged  to  the  front  with  34,352  more  votes  than  the 
Democrats.  Nelson  received  for  re-election  147,944,  George 
L.  Becker  (Dem.)  53,579,  S.  M.  Owen  (Populist)  87,931,  Hilleboe 
(Pro)  6,879.     Nelson  over  Becker  94,365,  over  Owen,  60,013, 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  351 

plurality  over  Becker  and  Owen  combined  6,434.  Nelson  only 
lacked  445  votes  of  obtaining  a  majority  over  all  three  of  his 
competitors  combined. 

1896. 

There  were  337,329  votes  cast,  Clough  receiving  for  gover- 
nor 169,906,  Lind  162,244,  Dean  (Pro.)  5,184,  Ames  (Ind.) 
2,890,  Hammond  (Socialist)  1,125.     Clough  over  Lind  3,652. 

1898. 

Total  vote  cast  for  governor  252,562  of  which  Eustis  (Rep.) 
received  111,796,  Lind  (Dem.)  131,980,  Higgins  (Pro.)  5,269, 
Hammond  (Socialist  Labor)  1,685,  Seng  (Pop.)  1,802.  Lind 
over  Eustis  20,184,  Lind  over  all  11,398. 

1900. 

Total  vote  cast  for  governor  314,181,  of  which  Van  Sant 
(Rep.)  received  162,905,  Lind  (Dem.)  150,651,  Haugan  (Pro.) 
5,430,  Fairchild  (Pop.)  763,  Lucas  (Socialist  Dem.)  3,546,  Kritz 
(Socialist  Labor)  886.     Van  Sant  over  Lind  1,254. 

1902. 

Total  vote  cast  for  governor  271,129,  of  which  Van  Sant 
(Rep.)  received  155,849,  Rosing  (Dem.)  99,603,  Meighen  (Pop.) 
4,821,  Van  Leuven  (Labor)  2,570,  Nash  (Socialist)  2,521,  Scan- 
Ian  (Pro.)  5,765.     Van  Sant  over  Rosing  57,246. 

1904. 
What? 


OBSERVATION   FORTY-EIGHT. 


Windom's  Candidacy  far  the  Presidency. 


In  the  political  history  of  the  state  "Windom  Ten"  has  been 
written  down  as  a  burlesque  incident.  When  the  campaign  for 
the  Republican  nomination  for  president  in  1880  was  in  progress, 
Minnesota  was  an  overwhelmingly  enthusiastic  Blaine  state. 
Senator  Conkling's  darling  ambition  was  to  defeat  Blaine,  and  he 
was  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  Minnesota  could  only  be  swerved 
from  Blaine  by  springing  a  "favorite  son."  Mr.  Windom  was 
flattered  by  Conkling's  suggestion,  and  the  poison  spread  to  his 
friends,  with  the  result  that  Minnesota  went  to  Chicago  solidly 
instructed  for  Windom.  At  that  time  Minnesota  only  had  10 
delegates  to  the  national  convention,  and  during  the  four  day's 
balloting  the  reading  clerk  would  announce  in  stentorian  tones, 
"Windom,  ten,"  and  much  of  the  time  the  announcement  would 
provoke  derisive  laughter.  Blaine's  friends  always  felt  that  if 
Minnesota  had  been  loyal,  he  would  have  been  the  nominee,  and 
in  their  estimation  ''Windom,  ten,"  was  a  badge  of  tricky  politics. 
The  delegation  was  undoubtedly  sincere,  but  it  seemed  at  the 
time  like  grasping  for  a  will-'o-the-wisp. 

While  Mr.  Windom's  candidacy  was  unquestionably  sincere 
on  his  part,  and  on  the  part  of  many  of  his  most  active  friends, 
it  had  its  real  origin,  not  from  friendship  for  him  or  desire  to  see 
him  president,  but  from  a  desire  to  lielp  some  one  else.  On  the 
20th  day  of  May,  1880,  the  day  after  the  Minnesota  Republican 
state  convention  had  instructed  for  Windom,  I  wrote  and  printed 
a  criticism  in  the  Globe,  and  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  25  years  I 
see  no  reason  to  modify  the  views  I  then  entertained.  I  accord- 
ingly quote  it  as  pertinent  in  this  review.     I  then  said: 

(862) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  35a. 

The  fight  in  Minnesota  is  a  double  one.  It  was  for  Grant  for  presi- 
dent and  against  C.  K,  Davis  for  the  United  States  senate.  The  Grant 
men  were  smart  enough  to  see  that  it  would  be  positively  hopeless  to 
carry  the  state  for  him  direct.  They  did  not  need  the  lo  votes  for 
Minnesota  direct,  but  if  the  state  could  be,  by  any  device,  taken  away 
from  Blaine,  it  broke  the  backbone  of  the  chief  opponent  to  General 
Grant's  success.  Ex-Governor  Davis  was  an  open  and  avowed  friend 
of  Blaine,  and  was  also  understood  as  being  a  candidate  for  the  United 
States  senate.  Hence  his  defeat  as  a  delegate  to  Chicago  broke  the 
Blaine  backbone  and  severely  wounded  the  senatorial  spinal  column. 
We  do  not  gainsay  that  many  honestly  supported  Windom,  who,  at 
heart,  were  opposed  to  Grant  and  the  third  term,  but  these  were  the 
rank  and  file.  The  leaders  know  that  the  fight,  as  it  stands,  is  between 
Grant  and  Blaine.  They  were  cunning  enough  to  see  that  where  votes 
could  not  be  secured  direct  for  Grant,  it  was  a  two-thirds  victory  To 
keep  them  from  going  to  Blaine. 

It  is  interesting  at  this  time  to  trace  the  inception  and  rise 
of  the  Windom  boom.  On  January  19,  1880,  the  Pioneer  Press 
took  a  consensus  of  presidential  preferences  in  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul.  In  Minneapolis  79  opinions  were  thus  classified :  Grant 
32,  Blaine  15,  E.  B.  Washburne  17,  Sherman  10,  Hayes  3,  Gar- 
field 2.  In  St.  Paul  60  interviews  were  given  showing,  Grant  18, 
Blaine  13,  the  nominee  7,  Garfield  6,  Sherman  5,  Windom  3, 
Ramsey,  Hayes,  Edmunds,  and  "any  one  to  beat  Grant,"  2  each. 
Mr.  Windom's  candidacy  was  then  scarcely  thought  of,  and  not 
a  single  Minneapolis  man  mentioned  him.  Wm.  Bickel  and  the 
late  Dr.  J.  H.  Stewart  of  St.  Paul,  and  a  third  party  unknown, 
were  the  only  ones  to  mention  him  in  St.  Paul.  John  Douglas, 
Mr.  Windom^s  brother-in-law,  was  amon^  those  quoted,  and  he 
expressed  a  preference  for  Blaine.  On  the  26th  of  January, 
1880,  the  Pioneer  Press  published  interviews  with  54  residents  of 
Winona,  Mr.  Windom's  home,  and  Mr.  Windom's  name  was  not 
recorded  in  the  list  of  favorites,  though  W.  H.  Yale  said  that  if 
Windom  should  be  a  candidate  he  would  be  his  (Yale's)  first 
choice.  In  February,  1880,  Gen.  J.  H.  Baker,  then  editing  the 
Mankato  Free  Press,  expressed  his  preference,  but  qualified  it 
by  adding: 

If  Mr.  Windom  enters  the  list,  the  delegates  from  this  state  will  be 
named  for  him. 

23 


354  H.   P.   HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

As  late  as  March  28th,  only  about  two  months  before  the 
Chicago  convention,  the  Pioneer  Press  published  a  conjectural 
table  of  the  way  the  respective  states  would  vote,  and  put  Minne- 
sota down  for  Blaine. 

The  Minnesota  Republican  state  convention  was  held  May 
19th,  and  the  real  beginning  of  the  Windom  boom  in  earnest 
can  be  said  to  date  from  April  29th,  when  the  following  appeared 
in  the  Washington  correspondence  of  the  New  York  Sun: 

Mr,  Conkling  says,  seriously,  that  Windom  is  his  second  choice. 
The  senator  from  New  York  will  not  admit  that,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
there  can  be  a  second  choice,  but  if  by  some  dispensation  of  providence 
Grant  should  not  be  nominated,  Conkling  will  labor  earnestly  for  Win- 
dom. 

How  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth. 

On  the  loth  of  May  I  published  this  in  the  Globe: 

A  week  ago  there  was  but  little  idea  that  Minnesota  would  go  against 
Blaine  at  the  Chicago  convention.  The  situation,  however,  is  chang- 
ing rapidly,  and  by  the  19th  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  see  a  whooping 
Windom  crowd  in  St.  Paul. 

On  the  same  date  the  Pioneer  Press  had  an  article,  which  is 
amusing  to  read  in  the  light  of  the  facts.  It  was  arguing  as  to 
the  probable  nominee  (still  ignoring  Windom)  and  advising  send- 
ing an  uninstructed  delegation  to  Chicago.  It  wiped  Grant  out 
in  this  manner: 

The  result  of  the  county  conventions  in  Illinois,  especially  the  de- 
cisive victory  of  the  anti-third  termers  in  Cook  county  on  Saturday, 
which  ensures  a  large  majority  against  Grant  in  the  state  convention, 
has  taken  him  absolutely  out  of  the  canvass.  His  name  will  not  go 
before  the  conv^ention. 

There  was  a  vigorous  fight  in  Ramsey  county  between  the 
Windom  and  the  Blaine  forces.  The  primaries  were  held  five 
days  and  the  county  convention  was  held  two  days  before 
the  state  gathering.  C.  K.  Davis  desired  to  be  a  delegate-at- 
large  to  Chicago  and  it  was  important  he  should  have  his  own 
county.     He  was  so  pronounced  for  Blaine  that  he  must  neces- 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  355 

sarily  antagonize  Windom's  friends,  but  Windom  was  not 
regarded  as  a  very  formidable  candidate,  and  Davis  carried  the 
county  handsomely. 

The  Pioneer  Press  in  commenting  on  the  primaries  the  next 
day  said: 

The  question  was  no  longer  whether  Blaine  should  be  nominated, 
but  whether  Cush  Davis  should  be  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  national 
convention.  Cush  it  appears  is  one  of  the  Blaine  syndicate,  and  had 
been  determined  on  as  one  of  the  Blaine  delegates  to  Chicago.  The 
Windom  boom  was  therefore  declared  to  be  a  personal  war  on  Cush 
and  as  Blaine  stock  declined  the  air  was  filled  with  vociferous  personal 
appeals  for  Cush. 

When  the  county  convention  met  on  May  17th,  Davis  offered 
the  most  peculiar  "Windom  resolutions"  which  were  ever  pre- 
pared. They  were  adopted,  because  the  county  convention  was 
composed  of  Davis'  friends,  but  I  imagine  Senator  Davis  had 
more  political  sagacity  than  to  think  that  a  Windom  state  con- 
vention would  send  him  as  a  delegate,  after  declaring  his  first 
choice  to  be  for  some  one  else.  The  resolutions  are  too  amus- 
ing to  omit.     They  were : 

Resolved,  That  while  James  G.  Blaine  is  our  first  choice  for  nom- 
ination at  Chicago,  we  are  in  favor  of  the  delegation  from  this  state 
giving  its  support  to  William  Windom,  in  case  there  is  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  his  receiving  the  nomination  for  president. 

Resolved,  That  the  late  contest  in  the  county  of  Ramsey,  had  in  it 
no  element  of  hostility  to  Mr.  Windom;  any  supposition  to  that  effect 
is  an  error  and  any  statement  to  that  effect,  if  persisted  in,  is  a  mis- 
representation. 

In  the  state  convention  Davis  offered  slightly  modified  reso- 
lutions in  that  he  stated,  what  was  true,  that  prior  to  Windom's 
candidacy  the  state  was  for  Blaine,  and  while  now  for  Windom, 
it  would  support  Blaine  if  Windom  could  not  secure  the  prize. 
But  though  he  eloquently  advocated  giving  the  delegation  some 
latitude,  the  Windom  men  argued  that  if  they  went  to  Chicago, 
announcing,  in  advance,  a  second  choice,  they  might  as  well 
omit  having  a  first  choice.     As  a  result  Davis'  resolutions  were 


356  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

not  adopted  and  he  was  not  selected  as  one  of  the  illustrious 
''Windom  ten." 

As  a  sort  of  historical  formula  it  may  be  of  interest  to  see 
what  the  state  convention  of  1880  did  after  rejecting  Davis'  first 
and  second  choice  resolutions.     This  was  the  1880  platform: 

Resolved,  That  while  we  do  not  detract  from  the  high  qualifications 
of  the  other  distinguished  candidates  for  the  office  of  president,  with 
friendship  for  all  and  enmity  toward  none,  we  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of 
Minnesota  Republicans  first  to  be  loyal  to  their  own  state,  and  as  we 
have  an  eminent  senator,  whose  qualifications  are  such  as  to  command 
the  wide  and  favorable  attention  of  the  whole  country  as  an  available 
candidate,  we  who  know  him  best  take  pleasure  in  adding  our  testimony 
to  his  entire  fitness  for  the  high  position.  His  ability,  pureness  of  per- 
sonal character,  his  unswerving  fidelity  to  Republican  principles  through 
20  years  of  honorable  public  service,  and  his  trained  and  liberal  states- 
manship, have  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  constituents. 

Resolved,  Therefore,  that  it  is  with  pride  that  the  Republican  party 
of  Minnesota,  in  convention  assembled,  present  the  name  of  William 
Windom  as  candidate  for  president,  who  would  harmonize  all  factions 
and  sections  of  the  country  and  insure  Republican  success  in  the  contest 
of  1880,  and  the  delegation  to  Chicago,  selected  by  this  convention,  is 
hereby  instructed  to  use  all  honorable  efforts  to  secure  his  nomination 
as  the  first  choice  of  the  Republicans  of  Minnesota. 

The  St.  Paul  Dispatch,  edited  at  that  time  by  Capt.  H.  A. 
Castle,  then  as  always  a  warm  friend  of  Senator  Davis,  on  the 
afternoon  of  May  19th,  while  the  convention  was  still  in  session, 
very  fairly  diagnosed  the  situation  in  the  following  comment: 

The  fight  is  pretended  to  be  made  in  the  interests  of  Mr.  Windom. 
The  pretense  is  false  and  shallow,  so  far  as  four-fifths  of  the  manipula- 
tors are  concerned.  There  is  practically  no  opposition  to  conceding 
any  reasonable  demand  of  Mr.  Windom's  friends  in  the  convention.  The 
only  question  is:  Shall  those  intrusted  with  the  advocacy  of  his  claim 
at  Chicago  be  men  with  Blaine  antecedents  or  men  of  Grant  antecedents? 

It  is  probably  very  rare  that  friends  rally  to  bring  out  a 
man  for  some  high  position  or  propose  his  promotion  without 
some  selfish  motive.  The  first  talk  of  Windom  for  president  and 
the  first  talk  of  Senator  Davis  for  the  same  position  did  not  come 
from  personal  regard  or  desire  to  advance  their  fortunes,  save 


H.  P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS.  357 

as  it  would  advance  some  one  else,  but  they  are  not  subject  to 
censure  or  charge  of  overweening  ambition  on  that  account. 
Mr.  Windom  appreciated  his  position  and  did  not  propose  to  be 
a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  his  party.  He  accordingly  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  gentleman  in  especial  charge  of  his  political  for- 
tunes at  Chicago,  which  has  never  been  printed,  but  which  it  is 
due  his  memory,  I  should  make  public  and  I  append  it.  It  cer- 
tainly shows  that  Mr.  Windom  was  not  a  puppet  in  Conkling's 
hands  to  advance  General  Grant: 

United  States  Senate  Chamber,  Washington,  May  29,  1880. — It  is 
possible  that  a  contingency  may  occur  when  the  vote  of  our  delegation 
may  decide  the  result  as  between  General  Grant  and  Mr.  Blaine.  In 
that  event  it  is  my  earnest  desire  that  they  shall  support  Mr.  Blaine,  both 
because  he  is  the  choice  of  our  state  as  against  General  Grant,  and 
because  I  think  his  election  would  be  more  certain.  Please  urge  this 
upon  the  delegation  at  the  proper  time,  as  a  duty  to  the  party  as  well 
as  to  our  state.  I  do  not  consider  such  a  contingency  as  at  all  probable, 
but  wish  you  to  be  prepared  for  it  in  case  it  should  arise. 

Hastily  yours, 

WM.  WINDOM. 

Years  afterward  I  met  a  prominent  Minnesota  Republican 
who  said  to  me  that  he  called  on  Windom  in  Washington  some 
time  after  the  event,  and  Windom  said  to  him :  "Did  you  know 
I  came  pretty  near  receiving  the  nomination  for  president?" 
The  visitor  conceded  that  he  did  not  understand  how  "Windom, 
ten,"  was  very  near  the  goal,  and  Mr.  W.  then  explained.  He 
said  Postmaster  General  James  of  New  York  told  him  that  the 
Grant  forces  had  decided  to  go  to  him,  and  have  the  credit  of 
nominating  the  president,  even  though  it  was  not  first  choice. 
This  was  thought  to  be  better  than  to  allow  the  Blaine  forces 
to  win  a  semi-victory  in  a  similar  manner.  Mr.  James  said  that 
Mr.  Conkling  actually  left  his  seat  to  go  over  and  notify  the  Min- 
nesota delegation  that  they  were  going  for  Windom,  and  urged 
them  to  do  the  rest,  when  some  one  halted  him  and  advised 
delaying  one  more  ballot.  He  accepted  the  advice.  This  was 
fatal.  On  that  one  ballot  the  stampede  to  Garfield  began  and 
then  it  was  too  late.     If  the  "Grant  306"  had  been    added    to 


358  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

"Windom,  ten,"  it  would  have  carried  the  stampede  in  the  Win- 
dom  instead  of  the  Garfield  direction. 

I  can  testify  from  personal  knowledge  that  the  convention, 
wearied  and  torn  by  dissensions  and  a  protracted  siege,  was  like 
a  box  of  tinder,  only  needing  to  be  ignited  to  go  off  like  a 
rocket.  If  this  story  is  true,  it  has  been  well  kept,  for  the  Grant 
forces  always  prided  themselves  upon  their  prestige  of  "never 
surrender."  "306"  medals  were  struck  off  and  presented  to  them 
as  the  stalwarts  of  stalwarts.  Here  comes  an  apparently  well- 
authenticated  story,  showing  that  only  an  accident  prevented 
their  striking  their  colors  in  the  heat  of  the  fray.  The  tale  also 
has  an  element  of  encouragement  for  "favorite  sons,"  when  the 
big  candidates  are  determined  to  win  separately  or  die  together. 


OBSERVATION  FORTY-NINE. 


General  Reflections  and  Nuggets  of  Wisdom. 


In  reflecting  upon  the  relative  good  and  bad  elements  in 
politics  which  I  have  observed  in  Minnesota,  I  summarize  them 
by  saying  that  I  believe  Minnesota  politics  are  no  worse  than 
those  of  other  states  and  better  than  some. 

I  do  not  assume  tliat  this  is  a  very  high  standard  of  morality, 
but  it  is  something;  a  high  standard  would  not  be  justified  by 
the  facts. 

There  is  always  a  great  deal  of  loose  talk  about  the  expendi- 
ture of  money  and  corruption  in  politics.  Much  of  this  comes 
from  the  large  mouths  of  men  who  like  to  appear  to  be  important 
political  factors  and  to  assume  that  they  can  secure  and  handle 
large  sums  of  money.  After  the  frequent  repetition  of  their 
stories  they  become  nothing  loth  to  assume  that  much  of  the 
money  is  used  in  debauching  the  body  politic.  This  idle  talk, 
and  oftentimes  simply  vicious  pipe-dreams,  creates  a  wrong 
impression.  It  is  really  very  rare  that  a  man  goes  into  politics 
with  the  deliberate  intention  of  being  corrupt  and  buying  his  way 
to  position,  or  of  selling  his  vote  outright,  though  it  must  be 
admitted  this  sometimes  happens.  I  believe  the  average  politi- 
cian prefers  to  be  honest — if  he  can — because  it  is  so  much  more 
comfortable.  It  is  true  there  are  "hold-up"  artists  in  politics  just 
as  there  are  in  the  mountains  of  California  and  Montana,  but 
they  are  only  a  class  and  not  the  mass. 

I  have  seen  pathetic  and  even  tearful  sympathy  displayed  for 
the  villain  by  an  audience  in  the  play  entitled  "A  Social  High- 
wayman." In  politics  my  sympathy  goes  out,  not  to  the  polit- 
ical highwaymen,  but  to  their  victims.     The  corruption  in  poli- 

(868) 


360  H.   P.  HALUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

tics  is  generally  charged  up  to  the  victims.  This  is  wrong.  No 
matter  how  wealthy  men  or  corporations  may  be,  they  do  not 
desire  to  part  with  their  wealth.  They  are  in  the  situation  of 
Jeff  Davis,  president  of  the  Confederacy,  who,  at  a  very  critical 
period  of  the  Civil  War,  expressed  a  desire  to  be  "let  alone." 

The  trusts,  corporations,  and  men  of  large  business  enter- 
prises desire  to  be  "let  alone,"  and  it  has  become  the  custom  to 
purchase  immunity  by  great  political  contributions.  The  presi- 
dent of  a  great  railroad  in  Minnesota,  not  now  a  resident  of  the 
state,  told  me  that  he  contributed  $25,000  for  the  election  of 
Hancock  and  $25,000  for  the  election  of  Garfield,  his  competitor. 
It  was  Jay  Gould  who  was  first  frank  enough  to  say  that  the  only 
safe  way  for  large  business  interests  was  to  contribute  to  both 
sides,  and  then  whichever  side  won  the  interest  had  "a  friend  at 
court"  always  under  obligation. 

There  are,  of  course,  political  highwaymen  who  take  advan- 
tage of  this  situation  and  bleed  the  business  interests,  which 
produces  the  large  talk  of  corruption  in  politics.  It  is  the  sys- 
tem itself  which  is  wrong,  and  still  if  a  man's  property  and  busi- 
ness is  in  peril  he  is  quite  likely  to  allow  himself  to  be  black- 
mailed on  the  theory  of  securing  protection. 

I  believe  the  average  man  intends  to  be  honest,  whether  he  is 
a  politician  or  plain  semi-respectable  citizen.  When  I  see  the 
number  of  rascals  who  prosper,  and  prosper  greatly,  I  admit 
that  my  faith  sometimes  seems  almost  to  have  come  in  contact 
with  a  live  wire.  But  I  prefer  to  believe  that  honor  and  decency 
hold  the  surpremacy  in  this  world. 

I  do  not  wish  to  go  through  life  with  the  constant  belief  that 
every  man  is  a  rascal.  I  would  rather  be  mistaken,  not  once, 
but  many  times,  than  to  adhere  to  that  belief  as  a  rule.  Every 
business,  every  profession,  every  caUing,  is  afflicted  with  bad 
men ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  all  so  engaged  are  bad.  Politics 
is  a  business,  and  political  parties  are  the  promoters  of  the  busi- 
ness. The  more  political  parties  can  blindfold  and  hoodwink 
their  followers,  the  better  they  thrive.  I  despise  the  man  who 
blindly  follows  party  leadership  and  party  names  without  the 
intelligence  or  manliness  to  think  and  act  for  himself.  It  is  just 
that  class  of  men,  who  are  really  like  cattle  being  sold    in    the 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  361 

shambles,  who  make  corruption  in  poHtics  possible  so  com- 
mon. If  the  happy  day  should  ever  arrive  when  every  man  is 
an  independent  voter,  instead  of  a  party  slave ;  when  the  voter 
will  take  the  right  as  God  gives  him  to  see  the  right,  and  the 
welfare  of  his  country  as  his  guiding  star,  corruption  in  politics 
would  measureably  cease  to  exist.  So  long  as  there  are  men 
eager  to  be  corrupt,  and  men  equally  eager  to  be  protected,  no 
political  millenium  is  likely. 

The  men  most  accused  and  censured  for  corruption  in  politics 
are  the  men  least  to  blame  and  the  most  to  be  pitied.  I  am  not 
sufficiently  versed  in  theology  to  determine  just  when  earth 
will  be  transformed  into  heaven,  but  pending  that  supposititious 
event  the  cultivation  of  the  independent  voter  will  do  more  to 
purify  public  afifairs  than  anything  else.  My  comments  do  not 
apply  to  any  particular  political  party,  because  all  are  equally  bad 
in  this  respect,  and  will  so  continue  until  human  nature  is  regen- 
etated. 

We  open  our  great  conventions  in  a  perfunctory  way  with 
prayer,  and  there  are  always  clergymen  sufficiently  reckless  of 
their  future  state  to  plead  with  God  for  any  kind  of  a  conven- 
tion, regardless  of  the  political  shibboleth.  Still  any  convention 
can  prove  to  its  own  satisfaction  that  all  of  the  others  are  not 
worth  praying  for. 

I  imagine,  however,  that  some  time  will  elapse  before  it  will 
become  the  custom  to  close  political  conventions  with  the  band 
playing  the  air — 

"Nearer  My  God  to  Thee." 

Many  men  who  have  been  and  still  are  prominent  in  political 
life  in  Minnesota  are  not  even  mentioned  in  this  book.  This 
is  not  intended  as  ignoring  or  an  affront  but  is  because  I  have 
sought  to  confine  my  work  to  a  record  of  war,  and  those  not 
mentioned  have  had  their  lines  cast  in  pleasant  places,  and  their 
pathway  has  been  one  of  peace.  Of  those  who  have  fought  and 
won,  I  can  say  as  an  encouragement  to  those  wishing  to  emulate 
their  example,  "Beyond  the  Alpine  summits  of  great  pain  lieth 
thy  Italy." 

I  have  not  written  this  book  as  a  politician.  In  fact,  if  I  had 
been  a  politician  I  would  not  have  written  it  at  all.  The  politician 


362  H.   P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

is  one  who  listens  well  and  talks  little.  I  think  I  am  a  fairly 
good  listener,  but  when  it  comes  to  keeping  still,  it  is  different. 
I  believe  in  having  an  opinion  at  all  times  and  expressing  that 
opinion  freely.  That  precludes  being  a  politician.  I  have 
always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  politics  and  always  expect  to.  I 
remember  well,  as  a  six-year-old  boy,  of  having  my  ears  soundly 
boxed  for  refusing  the  offer  of  a  flag  to  hurrah  for  Henry  Clay, 
the  Whig  candidate  for  president,  in  1844,  against  James  K. 
Polk,  the  Democratic  candidate.  I  was  "agin"  both,  as  usual, 
and  when  offered  the  flag  hurrahed  lustily  instead  for  James  G. 
Birney,  the  Liberty  Party  candidate  for  president,  who,  in  that 
early  day,  with  his  associates  was  laying  the  foundation  for  a 
republic  of  free  men,  a  condition  which,  I  thank  God,  I  have 
lived  to  see  realized. 

The  boxing  of  my  ears  on  that  occasion  was  my  entry  into 
political  life  as  an  independent  thinker. 

What  I  have  written  has  been  written  from  the  standpoint 
of  an  observer  of  the  acts  of  politicians,  and  not  as  an  actor 
myself.  I  trust  the  reader  will  note  the  distinction  between  being 
a  politician  and  an  observer.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  to  cast 
reflection  on  the  politicians.  They  are  a  very  useful  set  of  beings, 
and  very  important  to  every  community.  The  salvation  of  the 
country  really  rests  upon  the  contests  of  the  politicians  and  their 
exppsures  of  each  other.  Without  two  strong  political  parties  I 
doubt  whether  this  government  could  have  held  together  as  long 
as  it  has.  The  work  of  a  police  force  is  far  more  effective  by  its 
restraint  than  by  its  arrests.  The  feeling  of  the  transgressor  is 
that  if  he  does  right  the  police  will  not  interfere  with  him.  The 
same  feeling  applies  to  the  politician,  perhaps  in  a  lesser  degree ; 
but  the  politician  will  be  less  open  and  careless  about  his  wrong- 
doing because  he  knows  that  his  opponents  are  watching  him. 
The  time  has  not  yet  arrived,  however,  when  an  independent 
citizen  and  a  successful  politician  are  synonyms.  But  it  will 
come,  and  I  can  wait.  Later  I  may  conclude  to  bob  up  serenely, 
and 


S.  Y.  L. 


ADDENDA. 


OBSERVATION  FIFTY. 


The   Trials   and   Tribulations  of   Building   Transcontiaental 
Railroads — The  Story  of  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific and  Great  Northern. 


Few  people  riding  across  the  continent  from  St.  Paul  to 
Puget  Sound  in  the  luxurious  transcontinental  trains  of  the 
Great  Northern  and  Northern  Pacific  roads  stop  to  realize  all 
the  vicissitudes  which  these  great  enterprises  encountered  in 
their  inception  and  construction.  While  the  subject  is  largely 
non-political,  it  is  still  a  matter  of  historical  interest  to  trace  the 
rise  and  growth  and  progress  of  these  great  enterprises.  The 
Northern  Pacific  was  the  pioneer  in  creating  public  sentiment 
in  favor  of  a  northern  transcontinental  line,  though  it  has  not 
been  allowed  by  any  means  to  occupy  the  field  alone.  Dr.  S.  B. 
Barlow  of  Granville,  Mass.,  began  writing  articles  to  the  papers 
on  the  subject  in  1834.  He  estimated  that  a  line  could  be  built 
which  would  carry  a  passenger  from  New  York  City  to  the 
Columbia  River  in  twelve  and  a  half  days,  and  that  a  round  busi- 
ness trip  could  be  made  in  a  month.  This  seemed  wild  and 
chimerical  at  the  time,  though  it  has  been  much  more  than  real- 
ized in  later  years. 

While  Barlow  wrote,  Asa  Whitney  of  New  York,  in  1844,  was 
the  first  to  urge  Congress  to  give  a  grant  of  lands  for  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad.  He  asked  for  30  miles  on  each  side  of  the 
track,  and  so  far  succeeded  that  in  1847  he  secured  a  favorable 
report  from  the  committee  on  public  lands.  It  would  be  tedious 
to  follow  all  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  legislation  and  attempted 
legislation  in  those  early  years. 

Gov.  Isaac  N.  Stephens  of  Washington  Territory  made  an 
exploration  of  the  northern  route  (which  was  then  supposed  to 
be  impracticable  on  account  of  snow)  in  1853.    In  1857,  the  Ter- 

(864) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  365 

ritory  of  Washington  incorporated  the  Northern  Pacific  com- 
pany, and  Alexander  Ramsey  and  James  Shields  of  Minnesota 
were  among  the  incorporators.  In  i860,  when  a  bill  was  pend- 
ing in  Congress  giving  a  60-million  subsidy  to  the  Central 
Pacific,  and  36  million  to  the  Southern  Pacific,  Senator  Wilkin- 
son of  Minnesota  tacked  on  a  few  millions,  giving  a  25-million 
subsidy  to  the  Northern  Pacific  and  six  sections  of  land  per  mile 
in  Minnesota,  and  ten  sections  per  mile  beyond  our  boundaries. 
His  amendment  also  named  C.  D.  Gilfillan  of  St.  Paul,  N.  P. 
Banks  of  Massachusetts,  and  I.  N.  Stephens  of  Washington,  to 
form  a  company.  All  of  these  preliminary  matters,  however, 
came  to  naught.  The  genius  who  might  be  said  to  have  first 
developed  order  out  of  chaos,  without  profit  to  himself,  was  Josiah 
Perham,  a  native  of  Maine,  but  resident  of  Massachusetts.  He 
began  his  Pacific  railroad  work  in  1853,  but  was  entirely  wedded 
to  the  southern  route,  and  only  when  that  company  was  formed 
and  he  was  discarded  did  he  turn  his  attention  to  the  Northern 
Pacific.  His  great  scheme  was  to  make  a  people's  railroad  across 
the  continent;  and,  after  failing  in  Massachusetts,  he  got,  in 
i860,  from  the  State  of  Maine,  a  charter  for  his  People's  Pacific 
Railroad,  anticipating  that  he  could  find  1,000,000  people  who 
would  take  one  share  of  $100  par  value  and  pay  $10  down  upon 
subscribing,  to  make  a  start  in  working  capital.  Of  course,  the 
people  didn't  subscribe,  but  Perham  stuck  to  his  hobby,  and 
when  the  original  Northern  Pacific  land  grant  bill  was  signed 
by  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  July,  1864,  it  provided  that  people  could 
subscribe  for  the  stock,  but  no  bonds  could  be  issued  unless  Con- 
gress gave  its  consent.  1  his  provision  was  modified  in  1869  by 
a  joint  resolution,  and  still  further  abrogated  in  1870,  since  which 
time  there  have  been  no  lack  of  Northern  Pacific  bonds,  in  fact 
a  surplus. 

It  was  in  September,  1864,  that  the  company  was  formally 
organized  in  Boston  by  the  election  of  Joshua  Perham  as  its  first 
president,  and  Willard  Seers  vice  president.  It  was  only  a  little 
over  a  year  before  Perham,  disheartened  and  discouraged,  retired 
from  the  presidency,  and  in  December,  1865,  J.  Gregory  Smith 
of  Vermont  succeeded  him.  Perham  died  in  1868,  and,  like 
many  pioneers  in  business,  died  poor. 


366  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

Years  of  labor  followed  in  the  effort  to  secure  means  for 
prosecuting  the  work.  Exploring  and  surveying  parties  were 
sent  out,  but  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1870  that  work  was 
actually  begun.  Jay  Cook  &  Co.  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  made 
so  great  a  success  in  floating  the  government  bonds  to  meet  the 
civil  war  debt,  were  solicited  to  place  the  bonds  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  on  the  market,  and  proceeded  to  do  so  in  the  most  lavish 
manner.  The  commission  they  charged  the  company  was  suffi- 
ciently large  to  warrant  this  lavish  expenditure,  but  it  made  the 
net  receipts  to  the  company  from  the  receipt  of  bonds  very  much 
less  than  they  should  have  been,  and  piled  up  a  day  of  reckoning 
which  was  sure  to  come. 

Few  of  the  present  residents  of  Minnesota  can  realize  the 
situation  here  in  1873,  when  the  banking  house  of  Jay  Cook  & 
Co.  failed,  and  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  which  had  been 
built  from  Northern  Pacific  Junction,  near  Duluth,  to  Bismarck, 
in  turn  collapsed.  It  was  as  near  the  end  of  the  world  as  I  expect 
to  see.  Prior  to  the  smash  the  Northern  Pacific  had  purchased 
the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  line,  and  was  the  controlling  spirit  in  what 
afterwards  became  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  road.  But  these  prop- 
erties were  turned  back  to  their  former  companies,  and  every- 
thing was  in  statu  quo.  I  question  whether  any  circumstances 
can  ever  again  arise  which  will  cast  such  a  pall  over  the  state 
as  that  failure  did — a  pall  which  was  many  years  in  lifting. 

Mr.  Smith  retired  from  the  presidency  in  October,  1872,  but 
was  succeeded  by  Gen.  George  W.  Cass,  who  held  the  position 
until  1874.  It  seems  surprising  that  while  Jay  Cook  failed  in 
1873,  the  railroad,  which  was  really  bankrupted  at  that  one  fell 
swoop,  did  not  go  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver  until  1877,  when 
Mr.  Cass  resigned  the  presidency  to  become  receiver.  The 
receivership  was  of  short  duration.  A  reorganization  was  effected 
which,  as  usual,  largely  wiped  out  the  indebtedness  and  left  the 
reorganized  company  with  whatever  had  been  constructed  on 
their  hands  in  fairly  good  shape.  The  way  to  reorganize  a  rail- 
road company  is  to  decline  to  pay  your  debts  and  start  with  a 
clean  sheet,  using  what  property  you  have  to  borrow  money  on. 
Charles  B.  Wright  of  Philadelphia  had  succeeded  Mr.  Cass  in 
the  presidency,  and  he  retained  that  position  until  1877,  during 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  367 

which  time  he  contributed  very  largely  to  pushing  the  road  for- 
ward towards  completion.  Ill  health  compelled  his  retirement, 
and  Frederick  Billings  of  Vermont  followed  him,  holding  the 
presidency  until  June,  1881. 

A  new  figure  was  now  rising  on  the  financial  horizon  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  in  the  person  of  Henry  Villard.  An 
able  newspaper  man,  a  fascinating  war  and  descriptive  corre- 
spondent, he  had  attracted  much  attention  in  his  profession,  but 
until  this  time  was  unknown  in  the  financial  world.  He  was 
the  inventor  of  the  famous  $8,000,000  blind  pool  which  began  his 
meteoric  career.  The  bUnd  pool  consisted  of  Villard  asking  the 
financial  men  of  Wall  street  to  place  $8,000,000  in  his  hands 
without  any  guaranty  or  explanation  of  what  it  was  for.  The 
world  stood  still  for  a  few  minutes  when  they  did  it.  When  Mr. 
Billings  retired  from  the  presidency  Villard  was  not  quite  ready 
to  assume  the  reins,  and  A.  H.  Barney  acted  as  president  from 
June  until  the  middle  of  September,  1881,  with  Thomas  F.  Oakes 
especially  representing  the  so-called  Villard  interest  in  the  road. 
Mr.  Villard  then  became  president  and  remained  until  1884. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1883  that  the  famous  driving  of  the 
golden  spike  occurred,  and  perhaps  the  most  lavish  excursion 
this  country  has  ever  seen  was  brought  from  Europe  and  the 
East  to  witness  the  driving  of  the  last  spike  which  connected  the 
Twin  Cities  by  rail  with  Puget  Sound.  As  a  matter  of  actual 
fact  the  railroad  had  been  completed  two  weeks  before  and  con- 
struction and  possibly  other  trains  run  over  it.  But,  in  order 
not  to  mar  the  excursion  before  the  party  arrived  at  the  desig- 
nated spot  for  driving  the  last  spike,  some  of  the  rails  were  taken 
up,  and  the  ceremony  of  relaying  and  completing  the  road  duly 
performed  in  the  presence  of  the  distinguished  party.  While 
this  was  happening,  Mr.  Villard  and  his  securities  were  being 
raided  in  New  York  and  abroad,  and  long  before  the  excursion 
was  over  he  was  a  financially  ruined  man.  The  capitalists  accom- 
panying Mr.  Villard  rushed  to  the  telegraph  offices  en  route  and 
wired  New  York  to  sell  their  holdings.  They  thought  the  road 
was  utterly  worthless.  The  whole  affair  was  like  making  a  gala 
day  of  a  funeral.  When  Villard  retired  in  1884,  Robert  Harris 
succeeded  him,  and  remained  in  the  presidency  until  late  in  1888. 


368  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

It  had  taken  Mr.  Villard  four  years  to  recuperate  his  shattered 
fortunes. 

No  one  supposed  when  Villard  retired  he  would  ever  again  be 
at  the  head  of  that  or  any  other  great  enterprise,  but  in  1888 
Thomas  F.  Oakes  was  made  president  as  his  representative,  while 
he  himself  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors,  a  posi- 
tion even  above  the  president.  But  more  disasters  were  in  store. 
In  September,  1893,  another  receivership  came.  When  the 
receivership  occurred  Brayton  Ives  became  president,  and  for  a 
time  he  and  Mr.  Oakes  were  receivers,  the  latter  remaining  in  a 
sense  as  a  representative  of  Mr.  Villard.  With  Mr.  Oakes'  retire- 
ment from  the  receivership,  Mr.  Villard's  personality  became 
eliminated.  It  is  possible,  if  he  had  lived,  he  would  have  again 
showed  his  remarkable  recuperative  powers.  But  death  is  kind 
in  many  cases,  and  with  the  termination  of  that  receivership  Mr. 
Villard's  mission  in  life  seemed  to  have  terminated,  and  he  laid 
down  the  burden  of  life.  Following  this  last  receivership,  E.*  W. 
Winter  became  president,  and  after  a  short  time  was  succeeded 
by  C.  S.  Mellen,  who  served  for  five  years  as  president.  Upon 
his  resignation  Howard  Elliott,  the  present  president,  was  chosen 
in  the  fall  of  1903. 

While  on  paper  and  in  the  newspapers  the  Northern  Pacific 
was  the  first  transcontinental  railroad  in  the  field,  the  first  rail- 
road really  started  to  connect  Minnesota  with  the  Pacific  Coast, 
though  not  the  first  to  be  completed,  was  the  Minnesota  & 
Pacific,  which  was  incorporated  by  a  territorial  act,  approved 
May  22,  1857.  Henry  M.  Rice,  delegate  to  Congress  from  Min- 
nesota Territory,  had  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  from  Con- 
gress in  March,  1857,  which  granted  to  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota six  sections  of  land  to  the  mile  for  a  railroad  from  Still- 
water, by  way  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony,  to  a  point  between 
the  foot  of  Big  Stone  Lake  and  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  Wood 
river,  with  a  branch  from  St.  Anthony  via  St.  Cloud  and  Crow 
Wing  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
It  was  in  view  of  this  land  grant,  which  was  given  to  the  territory 
and  not  to  individuals,  that  the  territorial  legislature  passed  a  bill 
turning  it  over  to  an  association  of  our  citizens.  The  incorpo- 
rators named  in  that  act  were :     F.  R.  Delano,  William  Willim 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  369 

of  Stillwater,  Alexander  Ramsey,  Edmund  Rice,  R,  R.  Nelson, 
William  L.  Ames  and  Charles  H.  Oakes  of  St.  Paul,  Richard 
Chute  and  Henry  T.  Wells  of  St.  Anthony,  Daniel  Bassett  of 
Minneapolis,  A.  M.  Fridley  and  Dwight  Woodbury  of  Anoka, 
Franklin  Steele  of  Fort  Snelling  and  S.  B.  Lowry  of  St.  Cloud. 
As  the  name  indicated  they  hoped  it  would  in  reality  be  a  Pacific 
Railway  at  some  time,  but  I  doubt  whether  any  of  them  expected 
it  would  be  in  their  day.  Nevertheless  some  of  those  I  have 
named  are  still  living.  The  first  officers  chosen  were  as  follows : 
President,  Edmund  Rice ;  vice  president,  R.  R.  Nelson ;  secre- 
tary, J.  W.  Taylor;   treasurer,  J.  M.  Stone. 

While  this  company  and  its  successors  never  built  the  line 
from  St.  Paul  to  Stillwater,  which  was  required  by  the  land  grant 
act,  it  is  notable  that  in  the  early  days  everything  was  planned 
as  beginning  at  Stillwater,  making  that  the  terminus  of  the  road 
and  St.  Paul  a  way  station.  The  legislature  passed  an  act  in 
February,  1864,  giving  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  Railroad,  which 
had  succeeded  the  Minnesota  &  Pacific,  authority  to  issue  pre- 
ferred stock  and  make  such  grant  as  they  might  desire  concern- 
ing their  land  grant.  In  accordance  with  this  act  an  agreement 
was  made  in  February,  1867,  to  give  the  Stillwater  &  St.  Paul 
Railroad  the  lands  for  the  mileage  between  St.  Paul  and  Still- 
water, and  this  was  ratified  by  the  legislature.  This  subsequently 
became  the  connecting  link  with  the  West  Wisconsin  Railroad 
from  Hudson  to  St.  Paul,  and  later  was  fully  merged  into  the 
Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha  system.  Consequently, 
while  by  the  aid  of  subsequent  legislation  and  the  construction 
of  20  miles  of  road  the  land  grant  was  complied  with  and  all  the 
lands  legally  earned,  Stillwater  is  neither  the  terminus  nor  even 
a  station  on  the  Pacific  Railroad.  - 

The  vicissitudes  of  this  early  railroad  enterprise  were  numer- 
ous and  decidedly  discouraging.  A  contract  was  made  with 
Selah  Chamberlain,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  building  a  railroad 
from  Stillwater  to  St.  Anthony  via  St.  Paul  at  $22,000  per  mile, 
and  from  St.  Anthony  to  Crow  Wing  at  $13,000  a  mile.  Work 
was  begun  in  October,  1857,  and  a  portion  of  the  proposed  line 
between  Stillwater  and  St.  Paul  was  graded,  as  well  as  the  por- 
tion between  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony.     The  contract  called  for 

24 


370  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

the  completion  of  the  road  to  St.  Anthony  from  St.  Paul  by 
October,  1858,  and  from  Stillwater  to  St.  Paul  by  September, 
1859.  After  much  contest  the  state  had  voted  to  loan  its  credit 
to  the  extent  of  $5,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  this  and 
other  railroad  lines,  the  bonds  being  due  to  be  issued,  as  the  rail- 
roads were  constructed.  On  a  portion  of  Chamberlain's  contract 
he  was  to  receive  $20,000  per  mile  in  state  railroad  bonds,  and 
for  his  entire  work  very  little  cash  was  required.  The  financial 
crash  of  1857  and"  1858  sadly  interfered  with  those  arrangements, 
and  the  result  was  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  was  obliged  to  suspend 
operations  after  grading  62^  miles  and  supplying  ties  sufficient 
for  a  track  between  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony.  In  June,  i860, 
the  state  foreclosed  and  bid  in  the  Minnesota  &  Pacific  Railroad. 
Later  the  state  relented,  and  in  March,  1861,  the  legislature  gave 
the  railroad  company  back  its  property  on  condition  that  it 
would  go  ahead  with  the  construction.  Parties  were  contracted 
with  to  build  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Anthony  by  the  ist  of  January, 
1862.  But  when  that  period  arrived  only  1,400  feet  of  track 
had  been  laid,  the  courts  having  enjoined  the  company  from  pro- 
ceeding, owing  to  their  not  having  secured  the  right  of  way. 

In  March,  1862,  there  was  another  turn  of  the  wheel.  The 
Minnesota  &  Pacific  was  reorganized  as  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific. 
It  was  substantially  the  same  men  who  were  interested,  and 
Edmund  Rice  was  chosen  president,  with  William  Crooks  chief 
engineer.  The  default  in  completing  the  road  to  St.  Anthony 
was  overlooked,  and  the  same  contractors  were  given  another 
chance,  actually  completing  the  10  miles  from  St.  Paul  to  St. 
Anthony,  so  that  it  was  opened  with  a  grand  celebration  in  Octo- 
ber, 1862.  The  first  locomotive,  named  "William  Crooks,"  had 
arrived  the  year  before  the  completion  of  this  short  line.  No 
other  ten  miles  of  railway  in  the  state  has  been  constructed  with 
such  effort,  disappointment  and  numerous  failures. 

A  new  factor  now  came  in  in  the  persons  of  E.  B.  and  Will- 
iam B.  Litchfield,  who  took  contracts  for  constructing  the  road, 
taking  their  pay  in  stock  of  the  same.  In  1864  there  was  another 
reorganization,  and  the  First  Division  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific 
Railroad  came  into  existence.  Edmund  Rice  remained  presi- 
dent of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific,  and  George  L.  Becker  was  chosen 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  371 

president  of  that  portion  known  as  the  First  Division  of  the  St. 
Paul  &  Pacific. 

Litchfield  &  Co.  built  across  the  state  to  the  Red  River  at 
Breckenridge,  reaching  there  in  the  fall  of  187 1.  In  the  mean- 
time the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  proper  maintained  an  active  exist- 
ence ;  but  in  1869  it  began  surveying,  only  to  find  that  it  was 
paralleling  the  Northern  Pacific.  It  was  difficult  enough  to  build 
one  railroad  at  that  time,  and  consequently  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific 
turned  itself  over  to  the  Northern  Pacific,  thinking  that  com- 
pany the  better  able  to  construct  the  line.  If  no  further  finan- 
cial difficulty  had  been  encountered  the  face  of  the  railroad  map 
in  the  state  might  be  considerably  diflferent,  but  the  Jay  Cook 
smash  of  1873  compelled  the  Northern  Pacific  to  abandon  the 
St.  Paul  &  Pacific,  and  soon  after  that  company  went  into  the 
hands  of  a  receiver. 

In  the  meantime  the  First  Division  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific 
was  also  in  trouble,  and,  defaulting  on  its  interest,  the  trustees 
of  the  mortgages  took  possession,  and  J.  P.  Farley  of  Dubuque, 
Iowa,  who  was  the  receiver  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific,  was  also 
placed  in  charge  of  the  First  Division. 

A  bonded  indebtedness  of  25,000,000  had  been  incurred  with 
a  line  of  railroad  constructed  across  the  state  far  in  advance  of 
the  population.  The  glamor  of  the  land  grant  had  induced  capi- 
tal to  build  where  there  could  be  no  hope  for  possible  return  for 
many  years,  and,  with  the  Northern  Pacific  crash  and  the  kindred 
disasters  which  that  produced,  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  could 
have  floated  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  through  the  storm. 

It  has  always  been  claimed  that  at  the  time  of  the  most  des- 
perate emergency  in  civil,  military  or  business  affairs  there  is 
always  a  man  produced  to  take  the  helm ;  and  the  railroad  his- 
tory of  Minnesota  demonstrates  that  this  statement  is  correct. 
It  was  after  all  these  calamities  that  Mr.  James  J.  Hill,  the  man 
who  has  proved  to  be  the  master  mind,  overcoming  all  obstacles, 
appeared  on  the  scene.  He  planned  another  reorganization,  and, 
being  already  in  partnership  with  Norman  W.  Kittson  in  a  line 
of  steamboats  on  the  Red  River,  very  naturally  went  to  him  with 
the  scheme.  It  was  in  brief  to  form  a  syndicate  and  buy  up  the 
bonds  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  which  were  largely  held  in  Hoi- 


372  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

land.  One  of  Mr.  Kittson's  most  intimate  friends  was  Donald 
A.  Smith,  then  a  resident  of  Winnipeg,  now  Lord  Strathcona, 
and  the  special  representative  of  Canada  in  England.  To  him 
Mr.  Kittson  in  turn  went,  and  through  him  George  Stephen, 
president  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal  (now  Lord  Mount  Stephen), 
became  interested.  A  syndicate  of  great  strength  was  thus 
formed.  With  such  means  as  they  had  at  their  own  disposal, 
and  the  backing  of  a  great  financial  institution  like  the  Bank 
of  Montreal,  it  was  not  so  very  difficult  to  purchase  those  bonds. 
The  Hollanders  were  discouraged,  and  with  much  reason,  though 
there  was  an  immense  land  grant  as  the  road  then  stood,  and  the 
bonds  were  bought  at  a  very  low  figure.  It  was  probably  all 
they  were  worth  at  the  time,  however. 

Pending  this  reorganization  the  syndicate  named  had  filled  in 
several  gaps  in  the  system,  and  when  final  foreclosure  came,  in 
June,  1879,  there  was  an  indebtedness  of  $33,000,000  outstanding, 
as  well  as  $6,000,000  of  stock.  When  the  syndicate  made  this 
foreclosure  purchase,  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Manitoba 
Railway  Company  was  formed,  with  George  Stephen  as  presi- 
dent, R.  B.  Angus  of  Montreal,  vice  president,  Edward  Sawyer, 
secretary,  and  James  J.  Hill,  general  manager.  From  this  time 
on  Mr.  Hill  has  been  the  generating  motive  power  which  pro- 
pelled the  machinery  of  this  great  railroad.  Others  have  come 
and  others  have  gone,  but  Mr.  Hill  has  remained  the  presiding 
and  directing  genius.  Of  those  who  furnished  the  original 
material  for  the  last  reorganization,  Mr.  Hill  is  the  only  one  who 
has  always  been  active  in  the  details  of  the  development. 

The  work  which  he  has  done  is  not  only  part  of  the  history 
of  Minnesota  but  of  the  entire  Northwest.  Few  men  would  or 
could  have  stood  up  under  the  discouragements  and  attempts  to 
defeat  his  enterprises,  and  especially  the  attempt  to  destroy  him 
for  having  done  so  much  to  develop  the  country.  The  time  will 
come  when,  instead  of  being  held  up  to  the  public  as  an  oppres- 
sor to  be  avoided,  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill  will  be  honored  as  the  man  who 
accomplished  more  than  any  one  man  who  has  ever  lived  to 
make  the  Northwest  what  it  is  to-day  and  what  it  is  to  be  for 
centuries  to  come.  It  is  not  likely  to  come  during  Mr.  HilPs 
lifetime.     The  more  is  the  pity.     It  is  a  discredit  that  so  many 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  373 

obstacles  have  been  placed  in  his  pathway.  But  in  spite  of  all 
this  he  has  resolutely  kept  on  his  course,  and  millions  of  people 
are  now  prosperous  and  happy  as  the  result  of  the  efforts  of  this 
single  man.  A  shrewd  and  sagacious  business  man,  the  railroad 
giant  of  the  world,  his  only  real  offense  seemed  to  be  that  he  has 
had  some  regard  while  passing  through  life  for  the  personal 
interests  of  James  J.  Hill.  But  if  you  will  find  me  a  man  who 
conducts  large  business  enterprises  as  a  matter  of  philanthropy 
I  will  endeavor  to  arrange  for  his  translation  at  an  early  period 
to  another  and  a  better  world — he  is  certainly  too  good  for  this 
one. 

Mr.  Hill,  being  desirous  of  making  the  road  what  it  was 
originally  designed,  an  absolute  Pacific  railroad,  planned  a  prac- 
tical consolidation  of  all  interests.  The  Great  Northern  was 
accordingly  incorporated  under  the  state  laws,  with  Mr.  Hill  as 
its  president,  and  the  Manitoba  and  all  the  various  branch  lines 
consolidated,  so  far  as  operation  is  concerned,  by  a  999-year 
lease.  The  Minnesota  &  Pacific  was  entitled  under  the  act  of 
1857  to  six  sections  of  land  per  mile,  and  in  1865  this  was 
increased  by  allowing  its  successor,  the  St.  Paul  &  Pacific,  ten 
sections.  The  Manitoba  system  which  fell  heir  to  this  was  then 
entitled  to  3,847,376  acres.  This,  however,  was  entirely  con- 
fined to  Minnesota,  and  the  extension  of  the  Great  Northern 
over  the  mountain  ranges  was,  therefore,  without  subsidy  of 
land  or  money  or  local  aid.  In  1893  the  climax  was  reached 
by  the  completion  of  the  Great  Northern  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

In  the  face  of  all  the  financial  distress  which  befell  the  North- 
ern Pacific,  with  its  enormous  land  grant,  extending  nearly  its 
entire  length,  the  world  almost  stands  aghast  at  the  immensity 
of  the  problem  which  was  solved  by  Mr.  Hill.  When  Mr.  Hill 
passes  from  earth  he  will  need  no  monument,  the  erection  of  no 
statues.  He  has  erected  them  already  in  the  most  practical  form 
possible  by  the  completion  of  a  transcontinental  railroad,  with- 
out public  aid  of  any  character  beyond  the  confines  of  Minne- 
sota. The  life  work  of  Mr.  Hill  casts  in  the  shadow  the  story 
of  Aladdin  and  his  wonderful  lamp  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  He 
has  taken  the  role  of  Aladdin  in  real  life,  lamp  and  all. 


OBSERVATION  FIFTY-ONE. 


The  Two  Men  Elected  President  Who  Never  Served. 


Persons  familiar  with  politics  do  not  have  to  have  very  long 
memories  to  recall  that  on  the  eve  of  the  presidential  election 
in  1884  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burchard  made  a  speech  at  a  Blaine  recep- 
tion in  New  York,  wherein  he  styled  the  Democratic  party  as 
supporters  of  "Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion."  The  reverend 
attempt  to  be  alliterative  cost  Mr.  Blaine  the  presidency.  In  a 
letter  Mr.  Blaine  wrote  twelve  days  after  the  election  he  said : 

"I  feel  quite  serene  over  the  result."  But  his  next  sentence 
did  not  show  an  air  of  entire  serenity.     He  added: 

As  the  Lord  sent  upon  us  an  ass  in  the  shape  of  a  preacher,  and 
a  rainstorm  to  lessen  our  vote  in  New  York,  I  am  disposed  to  feel 
resigned  to  the  dispensation  of  defeat,  which  flowed  directly  from  these 
agencies. 

While  Rev.  Burchard  helped  in  Blaine's  defeat,  and,  from  a 
political  standpoint,  is  entitled  to  the  patronymic  bestowed,  I 
desire  on  behalf  of  fair  play  for  the  Lord  to  assign  still  another 
reason  for  the  result.  I  always  felt  that  the  New  York  law, 
which  at  that  time  not  only  permitted  but  required  the  burning 
of  the  ballots  after  the  count,  made  Grover  Cleveland  president 
in  1884.  Blaine  lost  New  York  by  1,047,  ^"^  ^  change  of  a  trifle 
more  than  500  votes  would  have  elected  him.  I  claim,  as  a  gen- 
eral proposition,  there  is  never  a  hotly-contested  election  in  a 
city  of  400,000  population  or  upwards,  when  the  party  in  power 
in  the  city  does  not  cast  a  good  many  more  than  500  illegal  votes, 
or  in  other  ways  keep  their  opponents  at  a  very  considerably 
larger  disadvantage  than  that  number.     This  axiom,  as  I  might 

(874) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  375 

almost  term  it,  does  not  apply  to  any  particular  political  party. 
The  sound  of  men's  voices  and  their  faces  vary,  but  the  ways  of 
the  politician  are  much  the  same,  whatever  name  he  travels 
under.  My  axiom  will  apply  to  Democratic  New  York  or  Repub- 
lican Philadelphia.  The  ballots  were  burned,  and  there  could 
not  be  a  recount.  Nevertheless,  in  my  judgment,  Mr.  Blaine  was 
elected  in  1884  as  clearly  as  was  Mr.  Tilden  in  1876 — two  presi- 
dents-elect who  never  took  the  presidential  chair. 

The  dispassionate  historian  of  a  later  generation  will  place 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  James  G.  Blaine  in  the  very  front  rank  of 
American  statesmen,  owing  to  their  behavior  when  elected  to  the 
presidency.  It  needed  great  resolution  and  patriotism  for  Tilden 
in  1876  to  countenance  and  urge,  in  the  interests  of  peace,  a  com- 
mission which  was  foreordained  to  give  the  presidency  to  the 
defeated  candidate.  The  popular  impulse  was  ripe  for  a  revolt, 
but  Tilden  put  the  crown  aside,  and  the  country  was  saved.  In 
a  sense  Blaine  was  also  a  victim  of  1876.  If  Tilden  had  been 
given  the  presidency  in  1876,  and  Blaine  on  the  first  count  had 
only  needed  to  find  524  fraudulent  votes  against  him  in  the  great 
city  and  state  of  New  York  he  would  have  been  chosen  in  1884. 
While  the  crisis  of  1876  was  perilous,  that  of  1884  was  absolutely 
volcanic.  For  a  few  days  the  country  was  on  the  verge  of  a  civil 
war,  which  would  have  been  most  awful  in  its  results.  The  Demo- 
crats were  wrought  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the  recollection  of  the 
8  to  7  commission  of  1876,  and  if  a  change  had  been  attempted 
in  the  vote  of  New  York,  giving  the  state  to  Blaine,  there  would 
have  been  an  instantaneous  riot  in  every  town  and  city  in  the 
country.  It  would  have  been  the  worst  of  all  struggles,  a  hand- 
to-hand  contest,  friend  against  friend,  neighbor  against  neighbor. 
We  would  have  been  South  Americanized  in  a  twinkling.  The 
daily  newspapers  in  most  of  the  cities  ceased  the  issue  of  bulle- 
tins and  extras  to  prevent  the  gathering  of  the  turbulent.  In  St. 
Paul  the  third  night  after  the  election,  the  crowd  in  front  of  my 
office  was  feeling  in  an  ugly  mood  over  the  rumors  that  New 
York  was  bemg  counted  for  Blaine,  and  a  visit  of  a  cheering 
Republican  crowd  from  a  neighboring  newspaper  had  not  added 
to  the  sweetness  of  the  occasion.  Trouble  was  brewing,  and 
arrangements  were  being  made  to  attack  the  other  newspaper 


376  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

crowd.  The  authorities  endeavored  in  vain  to  disperse  the  mul- 
titude which  packed  the  street  in  a  solid  mass  from  sidewalk  to 
sidewalk.  By  the  advice  of  authorities  and  of  friends,  I  flashed, 
in  this  emergency,  a  bulletin  declaring  in  the  most  positive  terms 
that  a  telegram  just  received  from  New  York  stated  that  the 
state  was  counted  for  Cleveland,  that  the  Republicans  had  given 
it  up,  and  that  that  was  the  last  bulletin  for  the  night.  Very  few 
were  in  the  secret,  and,  while  the  Democrats  went  wild,  the  news 
soon  spread  to  the  Republican  crowd  further  down  the  street  and 
correspondingly  disheartened  them.  They  had  formidably  bar- 
ricaded the  street  with  trucks,  wagons,  boxes  and  anything  which 
could  be  hastily  secured,  and  were  arming  themselves  with  clubs 
and  stones  for  the  expected  attack.  The  discouraging  news  ena- 
bled the  mayor  to  persuade  the  Republicans  to  disperse,  and  a 
fraction  of  the  happy  Democrats  swept  down  the  street  and  went 
singing  over  the  barricade  which  half  an  hour  earlier  would  have 
been  held  with  desperation  and  bloodshed. 

It  was  two  days  later  before  the  result  was  absolutely  known, 
but  by  common  consent  no  more  bulletins  were  posted  in  St. 
Paul  after  that  night.  It  was  the  same  in  Minneapolis  and  every- 
where in  the  land.  The  crisis  the  country  passed  through  in 
those  few  days  was  not  realized  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment. 
Blaine's  friends  were  debating  contesting  the  vote,  but  he  was 
willing  to  accept  the  result  as  due  to  "an  ass  in  the  shape  of  a 
preacher"  and  the  weather,  and  resolutely  declined  to  allow  the 
contest  to  be  made.  This  result,  however,  was  not  reached  until 
some  days  after  the  election.  The  election  was  on  Tuesday,  the 
4th  of  November,  and  on  Friday,  the  7th,  W.  H.  Barnum,  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  national  committee,  issued  a  proclamation 
declaring  that,  while  Cleveland  was  elected,  the  Republicans  were 
trying  to  count  New  York  for  Blaine.  He  asked  the  Demo- 
crats to  fire  salutes  in  every  city  in  the  land  at  noon  on  the  8th 
to  celebrate  their  victory  and  everywhere  to  meet  in  public 
assemblages  on  the  same  evening,  both  to  rejoice  and  to  protest 
against  the  attempt  to  give  New  York  to  Blaine. 

Late  on  the  night  of  the  8th,  William  Henry  Smith,  manager 
of  the  Associated  Press,  sent  out  from  New  York  over  his  sig- 
nature the  following  message: 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  377 

Our  footihgs  show  that  Cleveland  has  a  plurality  of  1,400.  There 
are  18  places  to  hear  from  officially,  which  may  reduce  this  somewhat. 
If  Garfield's  majorities  in  those  places  are  accepted  the  plurality  for 
Cleveland  will  be  724,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  Blaine  polls  as  large  a  vote 
in  those  precincts  as  Garfield,  hence  Cleveland's  plurality  may  be  accepted 
at  about  1,000. 

This  telegram  to  the  press  of  the  country  was  sent  after  con- 
sultation with  Blaine  and  other  leaders,  and  was  in  reality  an 
official  Republican  pronunciamento  of  defeat. 

Time  in  its  revenges  had  evened  up  1876  for  the  Democrats, 
and  in  its  retributions  had  prevented  the  Republicans  from  obtain- 
ing what,  but  for  the  '76  event,  they  might  have  secured  in  1884. 

It  was  better  that  both  wrongs  should  have  been  borne  than 
that  our  form  of  government,  which  is  a  model  for  the  world, 
should  have  been  destroyed. 

The  day  will  come  (if  it  has  not  already)  when  time  has  soft- 
ened asperities  to  such  an  extent  that  the  American  people  will 
recognize  that  to  the  uncrowned  patriots,  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and 
James  G.  Blaine,  they  are  indebted  for  successfully  demonstrating 
their  capacity  for  self-government.  Others  have  done  nobly, 
grandly,  for  the  country  in  the  presidential  chair,  but  no  other 
men  save  these  two  ever  had  the  opportunity  in  their  own  per- 
sonality and  by  their  personal  decision  to  peacefully  preserve  and 
perpetuate  a  government  of  the  people  by  the  people. 


OBSERVATION  FIFTY-TWO. 


The  Grant-Conkling-Garfield  National  Convention,  1880. 


Of  the  many  national  conventions  I  have  witnessed,  I  place 
the  Republican  gathering  of  1880  at  Chicago  as  the  most  inter- 
esting and  exciting.  It  was  a  veritable  battle  of  the  giants,  hav- 
ing Conkling,  Garfield,  Arthur,  Harrison,  Hoar  of  Massachusetts, 
Fry  and  Hale  of  Maine,  Butterworth  and  a  host  of  notable  men 
among  the  delegates.  It  was  a  war  from  the  beginning  to  the 
close,  with  the  Grant  column  against  the  field.  Grant  had  just 
returned  from  the  most  triumphant  tour  of  the  world  ever  enjoyed 
by  any  American  citizen.  Every  honor  which  the  kings,  queens 
and  emperors  of  the  old  world  could  bestow  had  been  lavishly 
heaped  upon  the  ex-president  and  soldier-citizen.  It  almost  seems 
surprising  that  his  own  fellow  citizens  did  not  catch  the  conta- 
gion of  adulation  wafted  from  foreign  shores,  and  with  loud 
acclaim  call  upon  him  once  more  to  be  the  head  of  the  nation. 
It  was  \mdoubtedly  Conkling's  expectation  that  a  wild  enthu- 
siasm would  sweep  the  country,  and  there  was  a  shade  of  bitter- 
ness in  this  passage  from  his  speech  nominating  Grant. 

Standing  in  the  highest  eminence  of  human  distinction  and  having 
filled  all  lands  with  his  renown;  modest,  firm,  simple  and  self-poised, 
he  has  seen  not  only  the  titled,  but  the  poor  and  lowly  in  the  uttermost 
ends  of  the  earth  rise  and  uncover  before  him.  Villified  and  reviled; 
ruthlessly  aspersed  by  numberless  presses,  not  in  other  lands,  but  in  his 
own,  assaults  upon  him  have  strenthened  and  seasoned  his  hold  on  the 
public  heart.  The  ammunition  of  calumny  has  all  been  exploded.  The 
powder  has  all  been  burned  once. 

(878) 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  379 

The  convention  assembled  on  the  2d  of  June,  1880,  and,  while 
Grant  was  in  the  lead,  the  ambitions  of  Blaine,  Sherman  and 
others  and  their  friends  were  encountered  at  the  outset.  It  is 
a  noteworthy  fact  that  in  all  the  preUminary  skirmishes  "the  field" 
defeated  the  Grant  forces,  and  this  was  the  forerunner  of  the  final 
defeat.  It  was  of  vital  importance  for  the  Grant  forces  to  secure 
the  temporary  chairmanship,  as  he  would  have  great  influence 
in  the  formation  of  the  committees  on  rules  and  credentials.  The 
committee  on  rules  meant  everything  to  the  Grant  forces.  They 
desired  to  compel  the  convention  to  accept  the  vote  of  states  as 
a  unit  where  the  states  had  so  instructed.  In  New  York  such 
instructions  had  been  given,  while  the  individual  preferences  of 
the  delegates  stood  51  for  Grant  to  19  in  opposition,  17  of  the  19 
being  for  Blaine,  Mr.  Conkling's  most  hated  rival.  The  Blaine 
men  were  bitterly  fighting  the  unit  rule  and  demanded  that  each 
delegate  should  express  his  individual  choice.  In  Illinois  there 
was  a  sharp  contest  over  delegates,  owing  to  the  action  of  the 
state  convention.  When  the  Illinois  delegates  met  in  state  con- 
vention at  Springfield,  the  delegates  from  each  congressional 
district  formed  themselves  into  district  conventions  and  selected 
district  delegates,  which  they  reported  to  the  state  convention. 
The  state  convention  ignored  this  and  appointed  a  committee 
of  one  from  each  district  to  select  the  district  delegates.  A  por- 
tion of  the  delegates  chosen  by  the  improvised  district  conven- 
tions were  for  Blaine,  while  the  other  crowd  were  for  Grant. 
Hence,  upon  the  committee  on  rules  and  credentials  rested  the 
fate  of  Grant  and  Blaine. 

.  Don  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania,  an  ardent  Grant  man,  was 
chairman  of  the  national  committee,  and  that  body  held  session 
after  session  to  agree  upon  a  temporary  chairman.  Gen.  John 
T.  Averill  was  the  Minnesota  member  of  the  national  committee, 
and  his  indignation  over  Cameron's  course  knew  no  bounds.  He 
would  refuse  to  entertain  any  motion  inimical  to  Grant,  and  for 
a  time  rode  rough  shod  over  the  dissenting  portion  of  the  com- 
mittee. The  fight  became  so  bitter  that  the  Blaine  men  pro- 
posed to  call  the  convention  to  order  and  depose  Cameron. 
Rather  than  have  a  fight  precipitated  in  the  open  convention,  the 
Grant  forces    finally  submitted  to  a  compromise,  and    Senator 


380  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

George  F.  Hoar  of  Massachusetts,  was  chosen  as  temporary 
chairman,  with  the  understanding  that  the  rules  and  contests 
would  be  fought  out  in  the  convention.  This  was  the  first  of  a 
continuous  series  of  victories  which  "the  field"  secured  over 
Grant. 

The  convention  awaited  the  reports  of  the  two  committees 
named,  and  it  was  not  until  the  third  day  that  another  issue  was 
sprung.  Conkling  offered  a  resolution  on  that  day  pledging 
every  delegate  to  support  the  nominee  of  the  convention. 

All  of  the  convention,  except  three  from  West  Virginia,  voted 
aye,  and  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  Conkling  offered  a 
resolution  for  their  expulsion.  For  once  it  seemed  as  if  the 
Grant  forces  would  triumph,  as  the  motion  of  Conkling's  was 
greeted  with  loud  acclaim.  It  seemed  to  be  likely  to  carry  almost 
unanimously  until  Garfield  turned  the  tide  and  again  "the  field" 
were  united  against  Grant,  or  his  champion,  Conkling.  Rather 
than  risk  an  open  defeat,  Conkling  withdrew  the  motion  to  expel, 
on  the  ground  that  it  might  be  unjust.  No  candidate  ever  had 
an  abler  or  more  gallant  leader  than  Grant  had  in  Conkling,  and 
no  man's  personal  following  ever  seemed  stronger,  but  he  was 
the  target  of  the  combined  opposition,  and  went  down  as  the 
result. 

It  was  late  Friday  night,  June  4th,  when  the  committee  on 
credentials  reported.  The  report  excluded  the  Grant  delegates 
from  Cook  county  (Chicago),  who  had  been  endorsed  by  the 
state  convention,  and  accepted  the  district  delegates  who  were 
favorable  to  Blaine.  This  report  produced  a  wild  scene  of  excite- 
ment, and  when  a  California  delegate  yelled  "We  are  here  to 
nominate  Blaine,"  the  enthusiasm  seemed  to  be  unbounded.  For 
30  minutes  there  was  a  continuous  roar  of  applause,  the  spec- 
tators being  largely  for  Blaine,  owing  to  the  work  of  the  local 
committee  in  their  admissions.  It  was  during  this  period  of 
applause  that  a  woman  on  the  platform  became  temporarily 
insane,  and,  tearing  down  a  flag,  wrapped  it  about  herself,  hys- 
terically screaming  for  Blaine  until  friends  kindly  removed  her. 
It  was  midnight  when  Emory  A.  Storrs  took  the  platform  to 
speak  against  the  report.  That  speech  was  the  greatest  effort 
of  his  life,  and  concluded  with  a  glowing  eulogium  of  Grant  and 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  381 

a  pledge  of  loyalty  to  the  party,  whatever  the  result.  As  a  perora- 
tion for  Storrs  the  Grant  forces  yelled  for  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  during  which  time  Conkling  sufficiently  relaxed  his  dig- 
nity to  grasp  the  standard  of  New  York,  and  headed  a  procession 
of  yelling  enthusiasts  in  marching  through  the  convention  aisles. 
The  chair  made  no  attempt  to  secure  order,  but  when  physical 
exhaustion  restored  quiet,  a  vote  was  taken,  and  the  eloquent 
Storrs,  Long  John  Wentworth  and  other  prominent  Grant  men 
were  excluded.  It  was  not  a  question  of  who  was  right  or  wrong, 
but  "the  field"  against  Grant,  and  the  report  was  adopted  by  384 
to  356.  It  was  in  keeping  with  the  previous  experience  of  the 
Grant  forces.     The  other  contests  were  similarly  decided. 

On  Saturday,  June  5th,  came  the  report  of  the  committee  on 
rules,  and  this  was  the  anti-unit  rule  reported  from  the  committee : 

In  the  record  of  the  votes  by  states  the  vote  of  each  state,  territory 
and  the  District  of  Columbia  shall  be  announced  by  the  chairman  and, 
in  case  the  votes  of  any  state,  territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia  shall 
be  divided,  the  chairman  shall  announce  the  vote  cast  for  any  candidate, 
or  for  or  against  any  proposition;  but,  if  exception  is  taken  by  any  dele- 
gate as  to  the  correctness  of  such  announcement  by  the  chairman  of  his 
delegation,  the  president  of  the  convention  shall  direct  the  roll  of 
members  of  such  delegation  to  be  called,  and  the  result  recorded  in 
accordance  with  the  votes  individually  given. 

This  rule  was  adopted  by  substantially  the  same  vote  as  in 
the  case  of  the  contested  delegates.  This  rule  gave  Blaine  17 
votes  in  New  York,  23  in  Pennsylvania  and  10  in  Illinois,  a  loss 
of  50  votes  for  Grant — which  might  have  saved  him  the  day. 

The  platform  committee  report  which  followed  the  rule  was 
only  noticeable  for  the  ^'what-are-we-here-for"  speech  which 
made  Flannigan  of  Texas  famous.  And  that  was  not  on  the 
platform  direct.  Some  delegate  moved  an  additional  plank,  en- 
dorsing President  Hayes  for  his  enforcement  of  the  civil  service 
law,  whereupon  Flannigan  fired  this  shot : 

"Texas,  sir,  has  had  quite  enough  of  the  civil  service.  For 
the  last  four  years,  for  the  1,400  officers  appointed  by  the  presi- 
rent  of  the  United  States  in  Texas,  140  represent  the  RepubHcan 
party.  We  are  not  here  for  the  purpose  of  providing  offices  for 
the  Democracy.     There  is  one  plank  in  their  platform  that  I 


382  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

have  ever  admired  and  that  is  ^to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils.' 
We  have  been  ground  underfoot  by  the  present  administration. 
We  expected  this  convention  would  nominate  a  stalwart,  one 
who,  after  we  had  won  the  race,  as  we  will,  will  give  to  those 
who  are  entitled  to  position,  office.  What  are  we  here  for?  I 
mean  the  members  of  the  Republican  party  are  entitled  to  offices, 
and  if  we  are  victorious  we  will  have  them.  We  came  here  for 
that  purpose.     I  move  to  lay  the  amendment  on  the  table." 

Of  course,  after  that  speech,  the  convention  could  do  nothing 
but  adopt  the  resolution.  Flannigan  may  have  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  a  good  many  people,  but  it  is  not  always  wise,  in 
politics,  to  give  yourself  away  so  plumply. 

That  1880  convention  could  very  properly  have  hung  up  the 
sign  on  Saturday,  June  5th,  "This  is  our  busy  day."  The  rules  and 
the  platform  were  both  adopted,  and  then  an  evening  session 
was  held  for  the  nominating  speeches.  Blaine  was  first  nomi- 
nated by  James  F.  Joy  of  Michigan  in  a  most  bungling  manner. 
He  even  made  a  mistake  in  giving  the  initials  of  his  candidate. 
The  contrast  between  Ingersoll  in  Cincinnati  in  1876  and  Joy 
in  Chicago  in  1880  was  so  great  that  the  Blaine  men  were  too 
mad  to  swear,  and  some  of  them  actually  shed  tears  of  rage. 
Frye  of  Maine  helped  out  with  his  seconding  speech.  Next  came 
Conkling  with  his  presentation  of  Grant  in  a  speech  which  has 
never  had  its  superior,  if  its  equal,  on  any  similar  occasion.  He 
took  the  platform  and  mounted  one  of  the  tables  set  apart  for 
the  reporters.  His  commanding  form  and  pale  face  looked  fairly 
majestic.  Without  uttering  any  of  the  conventional  formalities, 
such  as  "Mr.  Chairman,  and  gentlemen  of  the  convention,"  as 
soon  as  the  applause  which  his  appearance  inspired  subsided,  he 
said: 


When  asked  what  state  he  hails  from, 
Our  sole  reply  shall  be: 
"He  comes  from  Appomattox — 
And  its  famous  apple  tree." 

His  allusion  to  the  third  term  was  in  these  cutting  words : 


H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS.  383 

There  is  no  third  term  in  the  case,  and  the  pretense  will  die  with  tlie 
political  dog  days  which  gendered  it.  Nobody  is  really  worried  about 
a  third  term  except  those  hopelessly  longing  for  a  first  term  and  the 
dupes  they  have  made. 

Garfield  followed  Conkling  in  the  presentation  of  Sherman, 
and,  while  his  candidate  did  not  evoke  much  enthusiasm,  the 
speaker  did.  There  was  one  passage  in  Garfield's  speech  that  I 
would  like  to  commend  to  the  political  contestants  and  conven- 
tion.    It  was  as  follows : 

Not  here,  in  this  brilliant  circle,  where  15.000  men  and  women  are 
assembled,  is  the  destiny  of  the  Republican  party  to  be  decreed.  Not 
here,  where  I  see  the  enthusiastic  faces  of  756  delegates  waiting  to  cast 
their  votes  into  the  urn  and  determine  the  choice  of  the  republic,  but 
by  4,000,000  Republican  firesides,  where  the  thoughtful  voters,  with 
wives  and  children  about  them,  with  the  calm  thoughts  inspired  by  love 
of  country  and  love  of  home;  with  the  history  of  the  past,  the  hopes  of 
the  future,  and  knowledge  of  the  great  men  who  have  adorned  and 
blessed  our  nation  in  days  gone  by,  there  God  prepares  the  verdict  that 
shall  determine  the  wisdom  of  our  work  to-night.  Not  in  Chicago,  in 
the  heats  of  June,  but  in  the  sober  quiet  that  comes  to  them  between 
now  and  November,  in  the  silence  of  deliberate  judgment,  will  this 
great  question  be  settled. 

Both  Conkling's  and  Garfield's  utterances  were  rapturously- 
applauded.  E.  F.  Drake  of  Minnesota  presented  Windom,  Fred- 
erick Billings  of  Vermont  named  Edmunds,  and  J.  B.  Cassidy  of 
Wisconsin  nominated  E.  B.  Washburne.  Not  until  this  was 
done,  and  the  Sabbath  was  already  ushered  in,  was  the  conven- 
tion ready  to  adjourn. 

Monday,  June  7th,  was  devoted  to  balloting  pure  and  simple. 
On  the  first  ballot  755  votes  were  cast,  making  378  necessary  to  a 
choice.  Grant  received  304,  Blaine  284,  Sherman  93,  Edmunds 
34,  Washburne  30,  Windom  10.  Nineteen  ballots  were  taken 
in  quick  succession,  it  being  4  p.  m.  before  a  recess  was  secured 
until  evening,  when  nine  more  were  had,  making  a  record  of  28 
for  the  day.  Grant's  vote  ran  as  high  as  309  that  day  and  as  low 
as  302,  but  most  of  the  time  stood  at  306.  Blaine  never  gained 
but  one  vote,  starting  at  284  and  getting  285,  and  running  as  low 
as  275.     Sherman  began  at  93,  but  ranged  from  88  to  97.     It 


384  H.  P.  HALL'S  OBSERVATIONS. 

took  eight  ballots  on  Tuesday,  June  8th,  to  finish  the  work.  Five 
ballots  showed  no  material  change  save  Wisconsin's  vote  for 
Garfield  on  the  thirty-third  ballot,  and  the  Garfield  boom  was 
carried  through  in  three  ballots,  the  nomination  occurring  on  the 
thirty-sixth  ballot.  That  ballot  stood  Garfield  399,  Grant  306, 
Blaine  42,  Washburne  5,  Sherman  3.  "The  field"  had  defeated 
Grant  without  securing  any  of  the  other  prominent  candidates. 


30 


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